And when you do, your olfactory senses should pick up on a certain someone named Ollie Byrd, a one-man show with a full band sound hailing from Brooklyn. When I popped this little indie rock gem into my computer, Modest Mouse’s Lonesome Crowded West immediately came to mind. But even though it channels Isaac Brock’s quirky vocals, this by no means defines the album: the Mouse is merely a recognizable influence. Barrel O’ Fun has a quintessential noise-pop quality - low fi sound wrapped around smooth melodies. And with catchy guitar riffs and digital drum beats around every corner Byrd creates the perfect marriage of rock and pop.
This album is anything but predictable, which is a refreshing change from the formulaic nature of many big label productions. Sometimes even within the same track (”Wendy”) Byrd fluctuates between brooding verses one minute and melodious sing-a-longs the next. Jason Miller from Stereolab Music Review describes one of the stand-out tracks, “Chaka Khan” with the following: “It sounds as if Kurt Cobain had fallen for a Jenny Lewis type instead of Courtney Love and gave birth to a tongue in cheek downtempo love ballad.” It’s a bizarre, yet chillingly accurate analogy.
With all the generic rock and pop that is mass produced and shoved down our throats like day old spaghetti, experiencing Barrel O’ Fun is like suddenly biting into a mascarpone and gruyere calzone. That doesn’t mean it’s cheesy, it means you should put down your fork full o’ Fall Out Boy and pick up some Ollie Byrd. Pronto.