Bird of Youth - Defender

Bird of Youth - Brooklyn's Beth Wawerna is the designated driver of this slightly ramshackle but fuel efficient vehicle for her stark, rock-edged indie pop songs...almost three years in the making, the debut was produced by Will Sheff of Okkervil River and Phil Palazzolo (The New Pornographers, Neko Case) with members of The Wrens, Nada Surf, The National and Okkervil River as featured players...Release: Defender (May 24) // Sounds like: Wawerna takes some stylistic cues from The Pretenders' Chrissi Hynde with crisp, jangling guitars, dry vocal delivery and brisk rhythmic wallop that doesn't shy away from a touch of feedback here, galloping drum kick there... // Quote: "When we made this record I didn't really have a full live band together...so there's kind of thirty musicians on this record..." // What we like: Wawerna is first and foremost a songwriter not a stagehound, so songs like the gloriously street wise "new wave" anthem "Bombs Away" have some serious melodic chops beneath the disheveled appearance...Sheff and Palazzolo keep the sonic ends frayed and loose, Wawerna's dispassionate singing the perfect foil for the swelling choruses of "The Great Defender" and raucous modern girl group feel of "Stop Staring"...

Bird of Youth - "Bombs Away" (from the album Defender)

Bird of Youth - "The Great Defender" (from the album Defender)