They might be from Spain, but SMOKING BIRD's sound is authentically American. So American that you'll be yelling at your old lady to bring you a nice, cold Papst while you're putting your Trans Am up on lifts in the front yahd before "Naughty Little Girls" reaches its end. On this, their second full-length release, SMOKING BIRD show off a fun, classic rock sound with a refreshing touch of 80's sleaze (without the cheese). To pin down the SMOKING BIRD sound, thinking BLACK CROWES meets classic AEROSMITH with a FASTER PUSSYCAT closet fetish might put you somewhere in the stadium.

This is a nice slab of organic sounding, jam-friendly cock rock the likes of which we haven't heard in years. If you have any question as to what kind of music you are listening to, skip to track two, where the boogie-woogie piano and swaggering rhythms of "Rock N' Roll Balls" will give you your resounding and definite answer. If you can make it through this tune without smiling, go find another band; these cats ain't for you. In terms of other stand out tracks, there are many to be found on "Naughty Little Girls." "You Gotta Do It" grooves between full on and half time shuffle rhythms effortlessly. The epic 6 plus minutes of "Maniac Love" are a real treat. This up-tempo rocker wails from right out of the gate, soon simmers down to a killer groove courtesy of bassist Ray Kurtz, and then blows back up with manic solos by guitarist David Tamargo.

Production-wise, SMOKING BIRD could stand to show a little more dirt under the fingernails, especially given the drum sound. Had the engineer cranked the room mics and eased off on the compression a little bit, we might have more of a classic rock ambience that would better suit the band's genuine sound. This observation is nitpicking, though. As a band with a DIY CD, these dudes deserve all your respect for not trying to sound trendy, pretentious, or boring. SMOKING BIRD provides a fun, foot tapping good time with just enough danger to keep things interesting. Trans Am not included!

- Broadbent

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/smokingbirdrock

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