"What it is / Like a bird of paradise / Take a trip / Do a dip / And a flip / To a place you know you’ll like..."
The bell toned pop architectures and abrasive sonic beauty of "Bird of Paradise" by Boulevardier (as written and recorded by Boulevardier, RADDERALL and Brain Container), in tandem, colliding and writhing sometimes in a slow dance and sometimes in a deathgrip is as the artists describe " a 7 minute long rock ballad puppet show follows a bird of paradise on a habitual quest for romance gone wrong. Decisions in love must be made in the face of human induced violence, and everybody here is at fault" and in the form of a sonic 4 act play. It is, by any definition, not normal but to me, totally intriguing. The decision to fuzzy up what might essentially be described as 70's pop atmospheres might be polarizing. I was instantly intrigued but honestly didn't like it at first, maybe because I could hear beautiful 60's and 70's pop suggestions underneath and wanted to experience them in a more classic way.
But in truth, those suggestions from Burt Bacharach to Todd Rundgren twisted into something else as if through a hallucinogenic dream works on different levels, creating dark shades that might even veer into David Lynch territory. And let's mention even stronger psychic references to a genius that played in a sandbox for years or ghosts with dyed blonde hair. I mean I hear / feel bits of Brian Wilson / Beach Boys in the mix pretty strongly. From Pet Sounds and maybe even, more notably, the underrated / under mentioned 1971 Surfs Up album and, in fact, there is a particular chord change in Part 2 of "Bird of Paradise" that is so wonderfully Brian Wilson-esque that he should be noted as a co-conspirator (I am totally kidding of course).
So all these orchestrations via distortions of sound feel compressed. Like a sonic camera obscura, all these sounds and influences (to me) feel laser focused in a small point and, referring to 'obscura' in a real way, a lot of the vocals get lost in this haze a bit too much for me. All this being said, the surreal sound, the beautifully melancholy keys and plaintive vocal melodies, artful drum fills are dreadfully dreamy and as long as I have the lyrics so I can sing along, "Bird of Paradise" is fucking beautiful, a trip to be had often. Think of an amalgam of The Beach Boys, Porches, Flaming Lips, Unknown Mortal Orchestra (or thereabouts).
-Robb Donker Curtius
LYRICS
What it is
Like a bird of paradise
Take a trip
Do a dip
And a flip
To a place you know you’ll like
It’s a place you can go
Where the snow never shows
And everyone is so polite
Take a chance
Do a dance
When you land
In the sand
Spread your wings
Open your mind
Never in my life
Did I think I’d find
Someone as kind
and lovely as you
I’ve flown around the world
But never found a bird, or a girl
That could shake me funky as you
There’s a man
With a plan
And a gun in his hand
And the barrel as it stands
Is pointed at you
If there’s any shadow of a doubt
About me now
It’s your life to lose
La la la la la
https://radradderall.bandcamp.com/
🌴 This 7 minute long rock ballad puppet show follows a bird of paradise on a habitual quest for romance gone wrong. Decisions in love must be made in the face of human induced violence, and everybody here is at fault. 🌴
Conceptualized in December of 2021 on the whim of psychedelia, and filmed from July 2022 through January 2024 in Columbus, Ohio and Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Is there such a thing as love at first flight?
Boulevardier, psychedelic rock, art pop, art rock, alt rock, electronica, retro experimental, "Bird of Paradise" (Official Video), as written and recorded by Boulevardier, RADDERALL and Brain Container,
Like a bird of paradise
Take a trip
Do a dip
And a flip
To a place you know you’ll like
It’s a place you can go
Where the snow never shows
And everyone is so polite
Take a chance
Do a dance
When you land
In the sand
Spread your wings
Open your mind
Never in my life
Did I think I’d find
Someone as kind
and lovely as you
I’ve flown around the world
But never found a bird, or a girl
That could shake me funky as you
There’s a man
With a plan
And a gun in his hand
And the barrel as it stands
Is pointed at you
If there’s any shadow of a doubt
About me now
It’s your life to lose
La la la la la
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://radradderall.bandcamp.com/
🌴 This 7 minute long rock ballad puppet show follows a bird of paradise on a habitual quest for romance gone wrong. Decisions in love must be made in the face of human induced violence, and everybody here is at fault. 🌴
Conceptualized in December of 2021 on the whim of psychedelia, and filmed from July 2022 through January 2024 in Columbus, Ohio and Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Is there such a thing as love at first flight?
Boulevardier, psychedelic rock, art pop, art rock, alt rock, electronica, retro experimental, "Bird of Paradise" (Official Video), as written and recorded by Boulevardier, RADDERALL and Brain Container,
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