7ebra - Bird Hour

That ‘Bird Hour’ begins with a line delivered with such sweet sincerity that belies its angst (“Care more about / How I look than how I feel”) offers a window into 7ebra’s vibe from the off. Pairing folksy instrumentation - often sparse, largely revolving around minimalist, repetitive guitars - with grungy textures, the best moments here are when these combine with the existential nature of the duo’s lyrics and emotive vocals, which can turn from saccharine harmony to discordant contrast on a whim. Opener ’Secretly Bad’, the sullen ’Lean’ and expansive ‘Lighter Better’ are where this combines most pleasingly, the prickly guitar solo of the latter a deliciously unexpected counterpoint to the rest of the record. There are even hints of Wet Leg’s childishly sardonic naivety in ‘I Have A Lot To Say’: “I have a lot to say / Just not to your face / Your face really bugs me / I have to look away,” and the fade-out that ends ‘Wakey Wakey’ and the record entirely feels to be included with a wink. And yet, such is the difficulty of maintaining a limited palette over a full record. Its repetitions do become irritating - see ‘Born To Care’; the organ on ‘If I Ask Her’, the refrain of “Baby” on ‘I Like To Pretend’ and later, its cutesy organ. There’s a vibe here that 7ebra are more than adept at conveying, it could just do with a little more focus.