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Well, I can as it is a typically cheeky fun adventure mix of tech house from a guy that moved from Detroit (via New York and LA) to San Francisco Not exactly at the heart of Berlin on the West Coast but for someone who’s obviously a bit bird brain quirky (his real name is Barclay Crenshaw after all) these 10 tracks are the warped wayward house we’d expect; a Julius Papp meets DJ Shadow?.

You’ll recall his last album in 2006, Who’s Afraid Of Detroit? got the royal thumbs up from Richie Hawtin (no less) and his 2007 The Beats Of San Fran Disco compilation for Mixmag was definitely one of the best of the year so it’s safe to say expectations are high for the release of Bird Brain.

And ‘Monster Island’ is a suitably dark instrumental start and for a man that likes “electro, house and techno”. To that list we can add funk, fun and oddness at least as the next track is the ‘monster’ that finds Bootsy Collins chirping in with his usual Bootzilla-isms, “do we have any snake charmers in the house”. ‘The Greasy Beat’ is a total phreak out dub-up; if you don’t get this to move ya butt, you’ll only have yourself to blame.

‘Vocal Chords’ is a clever musical pun on the simple synth line ontop of bangin’ 4×4 but, as it is so well done, it has a depth that makes it as good a listen at home as in the club environment. Totally, less subtle is ‘Big n’ Round’, I’ll let you guest the subject matter to the very limited vocal content but there a ‘Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy’ humour..

So don’t think this guy is obvious ‘cos he’ll only surprise you. He drops a Latin-ish hip-hop beats joint (‘Bay Area’) that’s as cool as the winds that blow off Alcatraz. And then the co-produced track with J Phlip, ‘California’ is a just sexier than Donna Summer and Justin Timberlake combined with added ‘wap-wap’ car ad thing that’s being done to death on the TV at the moment; yes!

The other co-produced track, this time with Justin Martin, ‘Beat That Bird (With A Bat)’ is back to the ‘Big n’ Round’ approach adapted for Ramones fans and as a contrast, ‘Storm On Lake St. Claire’ is full of synth and storm sample atmospherics.

If your in San Fran this week and looking for a pick up after the 49s first half display last Sunday, pick up a copy of Bird Brain as there’s truly not one duff ‘un on the CD; feed the birds.

Reviewed: Claude VonStroke - Bird Brain (Dirtybird) Cat. No. Release date: 19th October 2009
Tracklisting:
1. Monster Island (5:08)
2. The Greasy Beat feat. Bootsy Collins (5:00)
3. Vocal Chords (6:55)
4. Big n’ Round (6:28)
5. Bay Area (3:50)
6. California (5:31)
7. Aundy (6:52)
8. Beat That Bird (5:39)
9. Storm On Lake St. Claire (6:39)
10. Jasper’s Baby Robot (2:40)

Links:
www.myspace.com/claudevonstroke
www.dirtybirdrecords.com
bootsycollins.com
Summer 09 Charts: faithganzine.com
Maayan Nidam:- Claude VonStroke -‘Storm On Lake St. Claire’