Eve Adams: Metal Bird – Travelogue via psychedelia and krautrock

Too many albums get lost not necessarily in the rush but sometimes in the slowness and method of delivery, and one such is Metal Bird. Self-released by Oklahoma-born singer-songwriter Eve Adams in March 2021, the album virtually sank without trace due in no small part to the tenor of what she does and the nature of the industry she has chosen to work in. And yet someone at the UK indie label Basin Rock heard it, loved it, and decided to dig it out of the ground, remaster it, take it down from streaming services and then re-release it with appropriate worldwide distribution.

Family tragedies

That's a win-win all round for Adams and Basin Rock (which, tellingly, has a solid track record in signing under-the-radar artists such as Julie Byrne, Nadia Reid and our own Aoife Nessa Francis), but it's also a Macca-like thumbs up for the listener. Across 10 songs, Adams relays tales of travelling from Montreal to Los Angeles to join her loved ones, and then from LA to Vancouver to record the album.

From family tragedies and personal beliefs to developing creative leanings, Adams presents an internal travelogue adorned with woozy psychedelia (think Hope Sandoval and Mercury Rev) and stripped back krautrock (the title track). What reigns overall, however, is Adams’s often dramatic and riveting lyrics, which aim to match late-night anxiety with a solid eight hours’ sleep. The aim is spot-on.

basinrock.co.uk