Boston is still licking its wounds over the breakup of the rock and roll powerhouse known as Mellow Bravo. But since their split nearly two years ago, many of their members have gone on to form (or continue with a stronger focus) projects whose sound fall somewhat outside their previous blueprint: keyboardist Jess Collins marches on with the Static Dynamic, frontman Keith Pierce dances hard in Party Bois, and drummer Dave Jarvis powers forward with Worshipper.
Now, guitarist Andrew Doherty delivers a new ambient pop project called Bird Language, which sees him team up with members of Planetoid, Goddamn Draculas, and There Were Wires. The band’s debut song, “Too Soon”, can be heard below, and it arrives in time for their first ever live appearance, this Saturday at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston for a Park Slug show with the Milling Gowns, dæphne, and Tyler and the Names.
“After Mellow Bravo broke up, I took some time away from writing,” Doherty tells Vanyaland. “Last December, the roof caved in at my apartment in Watertown and I ended up moving back to my folks house for a few months — right as the snowpocalypse hit. My folks were in Florida for the winter, so I was alone in this house, where I grew up — with all the memories — buried under six feet of snow. It was trying times, to say the least. So, when I wasn’t shoveling or commuting back and forth to Watertown for work, I was drinking, writing, and recording the music for Bird Language.
The more ethereal indie-pop sound is a departure from Doherty’s previous harder rocking projects, like Codetta and Motherboar. Something Doherty attributes to the isolation in last year’s storms and listening to a lot of Jason Molina at the time. “While it’s not immediately apparent when you listen to our music,” he adds, “I was inspired by the introspective, self-reflective writing process. I think you can hear that for sure.”
To bring the project to life as a full band, Doherty first brought the recordings to guitarist Neil Simmons (There Were Wires, The Living Sea). From there, the duo partnered with Planetoid drummer Mike Nashawaty, enlisted Chip Nicolai of the Goddamn Draculas for vocal duty, and rounded out the group with Carl Robinson on bass.
“Too Soon”, was recorded and mixed by Chris Graichen at New Alliance, with mastering by Nick Zampiello. Listen to it below.