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Album Review
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Boy Without God -God Bless The Hunger [Self-Released]
The term “eclectic” is overused, but this appealing debut earns it in spades. The brainchild of New Yorker Gabriel Birnbaum, God Bless The Hunger starts off as a lo-fi riff on Neutral Milk Hotel but then veers wildly into unoccupied territory: Stax-flavored horn charts (“Reasons”), Bowie-circa-Young Americans soul pastiche (“City Kids”), dissonant ambient rock epics (“Love Letter”), and Zappa-esque nu-classical excursions (the title track).
While it’s fun playing spot-the-genre-referent, pop obsessives will appreciate Birnbaum’s melodically astute and highly personal take on these diverse and divergent styles. Birnbaum’s resonant baritone, reminiscent of The National’s Matt Berninger, manages to imbue occasionally precious lyrics with depth and weight, and the record is slathered with remarkable musical moments and grade-A performances, especially from the horn section. If he can pull this off live,Boy Without God may well become a force to be reckoned with.
06/08/11
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