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The Rosebuds is the collaboration between husband and wife. Rather than follow the traditional route of getting married, buying a home, and then pumping out a couple kids, Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp decided to start the band a week after their wedding.

Musically, Birds Make Good Neighbors, the band’s second release, is a breezy pop album where friendly singing glides over smooth guitar strokes and warm keys. Yet the album is a blend of light and dark. Traditional pop structures are layered with somber instrumentation and downtempo beats.

"Blue Bird" is a potential radio favorite. Howard strums his guitar like this was a 1950s ballad as he sings an honest, old fashion, love song. Soft background vocals wash melodic “ooooohs” under his somber male croon.

Howard’s voice is strong and clear. Whether it’s his note-bending singing, or falsetto accenting, his cords give this album much of its shape. Yet, some of the best moments on Birds Make Good Neighbors are when the couple duets. Kelly Crisp sings with a voice that is a bit rougher than her husband’s -and she complements him perfectly.

“Leaves do Fall” is a bumpy, hooky track where the two vocalists switch their parts throughout. An almost spaghetti-western style guitar supports bouncing rhythms as Howard and Crisp exchange their verses. The mood here, like “Blue Bird,” is a mix of happy and sad. But “Leaves do Fall” takes the opposite approach. The delivery of the track is joyful, but the chirpy melodies hide gloomy lyrics. “So I must go / My bones cost me / To an earthen home to cradle me.”

The two share vocal duties again on “Shake Our Tree.” Easily one of the catchiest tracks on the album, “Shake Our Tree” is a joyously crafted pop song. A clapping rhythm and acoustic guitar serve to support the cheery vocals. Unlike “Leaves do Fall,” this song is completely upbeat and forces smiles on its listeners' faces as it pulls them into its contagious hooks.

Birds Make Good Neighbors is careful blend of sounds and mood. It is willing to go pop. The album is loaded with “ooohhs,” “ahhs,” and “la la las.” It is also willing to go dark. Blue instrumentation or dismal lyrics underline many of its tracks. And yet, regardless of climate, Birds Make Good Neighbors is consistently sincere. The writing is not sneaky. The music never deviates unexpectedly and the wording is straightforward. The band avoids the indie-pop counter-cultural clichés of irony and angst and instead employs a simple honesty. The result is an album that is as infectious as it is charming.

Reviewed by: Richie Corelli

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