Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Tweak Bird

Undercover Cops

Label: Volcom Release Date: 08/10/2012

87581
ruthimogen by Ruth Singleton October 29th, 2012

The Bird brothers’ new mini-album Undercover Crops is a bit like being slapped round the face by someone with a smidge of LSD under their nails. It’s abrasive, loud, perverse, but also kind of fun. Tweak Bird are doing exactly what caught our attention on their eponymous 2010 album, that is to say, making their music big, heavy, and not a little ridiculous. The psychedelia of the Seventies influence has only been heightened, and comparisons to the likes of Black Sabbath are as accurate as ever. It’s like being a teenager again – unless you’re a teenager now, in which case this has got your name on it. Never has a rock band taken themselves less seriously since the heyday of The Darkness.

Don’t be put off by the first track ‘Moans’. It’s not to be listened to too early in the morning. Or too late at night, come to think of it. It’s a giant step away from the TB norm and into a more uncomfortable electronic world where - as we’re told 48 times in close succession - “Everyone is paranoid”. Gets in your head, that does.

But that over and done with, it’s back to the Tweak Bird staple: a whole lot of heavy thrashing around beneath the dual vocals. It’s got back pockets full of energy and a relentless drive. From the anthemic ‘People’ through to the percussively complex ‘Weight’, these guys aren’t scared of getting the most out of their instruments. But it’s certainly not the thinking man’s EP. The lyrics rely on repetition for effect and most of the songs, despite subtle differences you can choose to hear if you want to, are belted out to the tune of a very similar vibe.

There’s a one-track exception, which carries its own distinctive voice. ‘Pigeons’ gives you a moment to breath. In fact, it gives you three whole minutes to breath, which is a considerable amount as far as Undercover Crops is concerned. It shows a gentler, more thoughtful side whilst we all take a moment. But come on, surely that’s what the likes of Two Gallants is for. The Bird duo are in their element only when the cymbals are outshouting the riffs with a topping of singalong poppy vocals. And the final two tracks mark a return to form; a guitar that crackles and crunches, smashed up drumming, distortion to fuzz the whole lot up a bit. ‘Bunch O’ Brains’ makes you want to throw yourself into a crowd of people and flail about a bit, and the closing track ‘Know It All’ doesn’t let up either. For a long weekend’s recording session, this is no work of musical genius, but it’s about as much fun as you can hope to get out of two men and a recording studio.

  • 7
    Ruth Singleton's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

Thavius Beck

The Most Beautiful Ugly

Mobback
87416
87655

Rolo Tomassi

Astraea

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND