Birthday Machine

As a Canadian band on an American label, I really wanted to like the Birthday Machine's four-song seven-inch debut. I was also looking forward to hearing this since I liked some of the previous projects some of this Vancouver band's members were in (guitarist Miko Hoffman was in indie pop band Gaze, and drummer Brady Cranfield was in old Mint Records dreamy art pop band, Kid Champion). The two songs that Miko sings do sound a lot like Gaze songs, but they are the melancholy Gaze songs and not the peppy poppy ones I liked best. But after a few listens I got over that and those songs grew on me. I will give my favourite song award to the Stefan Udell disaffectedly sung (in that school of Pavement way) "Victory Chords,” in which I also hear elements of Slint in the dark guitars. All in all not a bad first release, but I could have done without the remix song at the end.