Birds - Bic Runga

...singer from New Zealand and Birds is her third studio album. You may have heard her song "Sway" (from her first album Drive) on the American Pie soundtrack. The album I have is imported from New Zealand; the UK release is slightly different.

This album cover isn't much to look at. You can see from the picture that it doesn't exactly reach out and grab your attention. The booklet itself, though, has some really beautiful black ...
...You can hear songs from Birds on both her official website and her myspace page. I will attempt to describe her voice and musical style (I have no musical training at all, I am not pretending to be an expert): She has a clear voice, if not extremely powerful it beautifully spans her vocal range without ever becoming grating or screeching. It is good relaxing music, very mellow. The music is guitar and keyboard based, I suppose it is "alternative" ... more

Bic (pronounced Bec) Runga is a teeny tiny singer from New Zealand and Birds is her third studio album. You may have heard her song "Sway" (from her first album Drive) on the American Pie soundtrack. The album I have is imported from New Zealand; the UK release is slightly different.

This album cover isn't much to look at. You can see from the picture that it doesn't exactly reach out and grab your attention. The booklet itself, though, has some really beautiful black and white pictures of endemic New Zealand birds as well as another portrait of Bic, also in black and white. Other than that it simply has the thanks, contributors and details of booklet production - no lyrics (in case you're a singer-alonger). On the back cover is the track listing:

1) Winning Arrow
2) Say After Me
3) Listen
4) Birds
5) Ruby Nights
6) No Crying No More
7) If I Had You
8) Captured
9) That's Alright
10) Blue Blue Heart
11) It's Over

(UK track listing: 1. Captured, 2. Birds, 3. No Crying No More, 4. Winning Arrow, 5. If I Had You, 6. Say After Me, 7. Listen, 8. That's Alright, 9. Blue Blue Heart, 10. Ruby Nights, 11. It's Over and a bonus track - 12. Somewhere In The Night)

Bic has written and produced all the songs on this album and the simplicity of the production allows her beautiful voice to shine. It is a romantic collection of love songs, both upbeat and melancholy.

If you have never heard a Bic Runga song I suggest you track one down on the internet. You can hear songs from Birds on both her official website and her myspace page. I will attempt to describe her voice and musical style (I have no musical training at all, I am not pretending to be an expert): She has a clear voice, if not extremely powerful it beautifully spans her vocal range without ever becoming grating or screeching. It is good relaxing music, very mellow. The music is guitar and keyboard based, I suppose it is "alternative" acoustic guitar based pop. Her earlier albums are generally more lively, this one is more sedate perhaps it is a bit more grown up?

I have seen Bic Runga perform twice recently, once mainly songs from this album and once as more of a request show. The two shows had completely different atmospheres reflecting the different tones of her songs. The request show being very lively and poppy while the predominantly Birds gig seemed much more relaxed and mellow.

This is proving to be difficult, but I am going to try to describe the songs to give an overall feel for the album:

Winning Arrow - an upbeat love song, a cheery start to the album.
Say After Me - a slower, sadder song about breaking up.
Listen - A love song about being comfortable together. Has a nice harmonica part.
Birds - The title track really is a beautiful song with some hauntingly catchy ah-ahs in the middle.
Ruby Nights - Another spooky, down one.
No Crying No More - A simple guitar accompaniment and almost country feel to this cheerful song.
If I Had You - A fuller sound.
Captured - A hunting love song.
That's Alright - More of the same (not too keen on this one).
Blue Blue Heart - This one is my favorite. It is very catchy and makes my feet tap whenever I hear it.
It's Over - Another end of a relationship song.

All in all, this album is a very calm and accomplished set of love songs. The standout tracks for me are Blue Blue Heart and Birds. It isn't terribly exciting and it won't have you jumping out of your chair to dance, and you probably shouldn't listen to it if you're already feeling a bit down (unless you've just been dumped and you want to wallow), but it sounds beautiful. The sound is more mature than her earlier albums and if you can certainly hear the influence of Tim Finn (of Crowded House) who plays various instruments on the album and whom Bic supported on a Finn Brothers tour.

If you've never heard Bic Runga before, you might like this album if you like: Janis Ian, Crowded House, Frente, Aimee Mann, Beth Orton or Jem.

If you've heard and liked her other work, you might be a bit surprised by this new collection but you should give it a try if you liked When I See You Smile or the general direction her work has been taking or if you just like the sound of her voice - this will still make a good addition to your CD collection. It is a bit more mainstream, probably, than her two previous albums, but it lacks some of the quirkiness of that makes her stand out from the crowd.  

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