Birth Post Demo Track “Descending Us”
Posted in Bootleg Theater, On the Radar on June 28th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Timing is everything. Wasn’t it just the end of last week that I was calling humanity poorer for the apparent dissolution of San Diego progressive heavy psych rockers Astra? Yes, it was. And wasn’t it just yesterday that band was talking about putting out a third record? Again, yuppers. Well, as it turns out, guitarist/keyboardist Brian Ellis and keyboardist/vocalist Conor Riley from that group have also teamed with drummer Paul Marrone from Radio Moscow and Psicomagia and Psicomagia bassist Trevor Mast to form the new outfit Birth, and their first demo track — a song called “Descending Us” that would seem to account for the general direction of who we are as a species — has been newly unveiled.
The pedigree of the lineup is significant, of course. San Diego’s well-discussed boom in heavy psych wouldn’t have the shape it does without the likes of Astra or Radio Moscow, and if you didn’t hear the El Paraiso-released 2014 self-titled debut from Psicomagia (review here), the arguments in its favor were numerous and convincing. Of the various strains of its lineage, “Descending Us” seems most immediately to have the most in common with Astra, however, and one can hear that in its focus on synth and vocal melody, which offer a restful, similarly post-Crimson vibe that finds still-fluid contrast with the dramatic rhythm drawn from Deep Purple‘s “Child in Time” and the later-emerging shred from Ellis‘ guitar, which at the apex of the track calls to mind Rush as much as SoCal scene kingpins Earthless without owing itself entirely to either of them.
An encouraging start, to say the least, and one that wouldn’t find Birth out of place on labels ranging from Rise Above (which brought Astra‘s two records to light) to Tee Pee to El Paraiso or Heavy Psych Sounds, let alone the broader distributive reach of an outlet like Century Media, which recently picked up Radio Moscow. Wherever they end up, they’ve made a resounding first impression, and one looks forward to what explorations and sonic discoveries may lay ahead.
Enjoy “Descending Us” in the video embed below, followed by the relevant social links:
Birth, “Descending Us” demo
Formed in 2016 in San Diego, Birth is drummer Paul Marrone (Radio Moscow, Psicomagia), bassist Trevor Mast (Psicomagia), guitarist/keyboardist Brian Ellis (Astra, Psicomagia) and keyboardist/vocalist Conor Riley (Astra).
