Birds & Batteries

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Birds & Batteries is the experimental indie-pop of Mike Sempert with Christopher Walsh (guitar and pedal steel), Jill Heinke (bass, synth and percussion) and Brian Michelson (drums, percussion and samples). Ranging from synth-based dance music to Americana, the band loosens the bonds of genre to reveal the basic element of a well-crafted song. Their music is deeply influenced by the rock, funk and soul music of the 70′s but is often accented by the blips and boops of contemporary electronic music. This juxtaposition allows for a sound and aesthetic that is at once familiar, surprising and completely unique to the Birds & Batteries catalogue. Song topics are frequently centered around the entanglements of city and country, technology and nature, and the various selves we occupy in a lifetime.

The band’s last album, I’ll Never Sleep Again won universal praise from bloggers, critics and fans, while their memorable live show has further solidified them as one of the best bands living and playing in San Francisco today. Their upcoming album, tentatively titled The Machine and The Vampire promises to be darker and funkier than their last, with glimpes into the isolation of urban life and promises of a post-Bush era. Where I’ll Never Sleep Again shimmers and undulates, B&B’s latest effort decidedly rocks. This is the natural result of a touring band growing together and loosening up a bit. Sempert’s songs are still marked with his knack for the infectious and unpredictable, but they’ve been amped up and bolstered by the powerhouse that is the B&B live band. They’ll be hitting the road again this spring and summer.

About the band’s 2009 Up To No Good EP:

“A bit like a high-concept mashup, this fusion of two of the slickest eras of pop production produces some polished results … an electronic landscape that’s actually pretty akin to being out in the woods, immersed in a barrage of chattering, ebullient life”
—Pitchfork

“Like watching Halloween on a bunch of cough syrup and then having a dizzy and slowed dance party at the end”
—The FADER

“Meticulously funky … twenty minutes of synth pop bliss”
—URB

“Get ready for a new favourite band. There’s the mellow and totally brilliant basslines you used to locate on a Bowie album, mixed up with the kind of gorgeous vocal harmonies Super Furry Animals had at their most Beatles-esque peak”
—The Recommender, UK

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