For many of you reading out there, Radio Birdman is one of the best and most important bands of which you’ve never heard. They are the Australian Iggy and the Stooges, Sonic Youth, and Ramones all wrapped into one and have had a lasting influence on innumerable rock bands that have come since.
Led by Ann Arbor (MI) native Deniz Tek and vocalist Rob Younger, the group first emerged down under in 1974. Radio Birdman was able to fuse Detroit-style punk rock and Australian surf culture into a sound that was incredibly vibrant and raw, as well as intelligent (Tek works as an emergency room physician when he is not busy with his music).
On Zeno Beach, their first album in thirty years, Radio Birdman may not be covering new ground, but what they’ve got is pretty good. Tracks such as “Connected” and “Locked Up” wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Radios Appear or Living Eye, but they don’t sound like revisited outtakes either.
The sappy, uninspired “Die Like April” is the lowest point on the album, and by low I mean that it should be buried six feet under and forgotten. They make it up with “Remorseless,” which perhaps best states the group’s rock ‘n’ roll prowess and shows why people are so anxious to hear from them again.
More often than I would have liked, I was left pining for the virtuoso guitar solos I expected, but then again, I am a huge sucker for Deniz Tek’s guitar antics. Though Zeno Beach definitely reflects a more grown-up quality than Radio Birdman’s earlier work, it doesn’t compromise their integrity. They aren’t trying to be anyone but themselves, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
– Jamie Ludwig
Radio Birdman (Yep Roc)