By: David Schultz

The story of the modern jamband slowly building a following through ceaseless performing and constant touring has been an oft-told tale. There are usually different wrinkles, especially in the final act where our heroes ideally become huge superstars, but for the most part jambands usually create their fan base on the road, one listener at a time; rarely do they get a chance to have one built for them by a major label's crafty marketing department. For the past two summers, BuzzUniverse, the New Jersey based quartet made up of Alex Garay (guitar), Dave Migliore (drums), Greg McLoughlin (bass) and Freddy Moises (sax/flute), have adopted a "play all day to whoever is passing" philosophy at New York's Chelsea Piers. The benefits yielded from the venture are displayed on birdishtree, their second full length release.

BuzzUniverse packs a lot on the disc, showing a deft proficiency in a few different styles. Don't get turned off by the squonky horns or the first couple verses of the opening track, "Hour," after a shaky start it evolves into a wonderful groove with the Moises-led horns finding the proper niche. Moises' saxophone and flute provide many of the birdfishtree's finer moments. For the most part, BuzzUniverse works in the horns quite well, avoiding the traditional riffs that many funk bands fall back on like a crutch. They also deftly incorporate Moises' flute, especially on the "Sparkling Path," a pleasant flute and guitar instrumental with Garay.

While there's a lot of quality material, birdfishtree could do with some editing and a tighter presentation. The straining "Mama Down Blues" drearily slows down the pace and the middle of the disc bounces wildly. While the mountain hoedown feel of "Up The Mountain" and the Stones' "Miss You" era groove of "All Of My Friends" stand well alone, they seem mismatched placed next to each other. "Suspicious Activity" and "In The Sun" aren't unenjoyable, but as their reliance on more traditional funk grooves comes across as uninspired.

If anything, birdfishtree is slightly weakened by an uneven presentation that dilutes the wide-ranging talent of the band. BuzzUniverse gives a nice relaxed Sixties-era feel to "Earth Is Moving" and McLoughlin's rumbling bass fuels "Down Low" with a sinewy, smoky blues feel, giving it significant muscle. On "Changes Of Love," they share a bouncy riff with Garay handing it off to Moises on flute as they segue into a cover of the Marshal Tucker Band's "This Ol' Cowboy."

Like most stories worth hearing, birdfishtree makes up an interesting early chapter in what will surely be an eventful tale.

Labels: BuzzUniverse