Don’t expect Ontaria Ramonescore three-piece AVEM to go down to the basement. Don’t expect them to sniff glue, or hang out at the Burger King neither. Nope, AVEM rather walk in nature and do some bird watching.
Birds. It’s all they sing about on their new record Three Birds Stoned. Even the sole love song (Let’s Go Watching) is about birds. Throughout the record, AVEM are unafraid to share their knowledge about specific birds, like in the 26 second Red Winged Blackbird (“Red winged blackbirds are called red winged blackbirds cause they have red wings”). Arguably the weirdest songs on the record are when AVEM takes the perspective of birds. For example in Mother Nature Really Sucks (“Grounded // I can no longer fly // The ice crystals they chill me to the bone // Accepting this twisted cruel fate // I’m gonna die so far away from home“) and Rotten Egg (“I thought that as a child i’d lead a perfect life // you’d puke food in my mouth all day and every night.”).
I guess AVEM is Teenage Bottlerocket but with birds…? One worry with a concept band/record like this, is the idea can get old quickly. And sure, 19 (!) songs (including some previously released songs) is a bit too much. But to my ears, the record is too much fun too worry about any of that. I don’t think I heard the word binoculars in a pop punk song before. And I had no idea there is a bird to rhyme it with (the meadowlark). Three Birds Stoned is a fun and catchy record that is executed well. It’s out now on Toronto Blue Jay vinyl and Birdshit Splatter vinyl through Mom’s Basement Records.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Mom’s Basement Records