Birdmonster

Birdmonster, the San Francisco quartet, echo a regional counterpart to Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, yet their sound diverges sharply by weaving Fugazi-like indie rock with allusions to the Grateful Dead’s American Beauty phase and early Bruce Springsteen instead of the first-wave new wave and ska devotion that defines Leo’s circle, including acts such as the Jam and the Specials. High-energy punky rockers sit alongside country-tinged numbers built around banjo, melodica, and cello, held together chiefly by the lived-in vocals of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Peter Arcuni.

A San Diego native, Arcuni launched Birdmonster in 2004 with three fellow musicians from his San Francisco neighborhood: childhood friend Justin Tenuto on bass (who also supplies banjo, melodica, and a ’70s vintage Fender Rhodes electric piano), guitarist and pianist David Klein, and drummer Zach Winter, who adds cello to the quieter material. Committed to total D.I.Y. autonomy, the band issued its self-titled debut EP independently and funneled the proceeds into cross-country touring plus recording sessions for the full-length debut with producer Bradley Cook, previously associated with Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age. Although 2006’s No Midnight first appeared under the band’s own auspices, growing attention secured a distribution arrangement with SpinArt Records, which reissued the album in August 2006. For the Americana-tinged From the Mountain to the Sea in 2008, Birdmonster moved to the Fader label, issuing the album digitally that August and in physical form a month later.