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Honest Review

A Face I Have Found | Irvine, CA USA | 08/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What happens when you cross healthy doses of experimentation, jazz, and post-emo? You get Owls. If you accidentally arrived at this page while trying to find the Rob Thomas album, let me save you some time...you will hate these here Owls. But if you're so burnt out on G-D-C chord progressions that you're seconds away from vomiting an owl pellet, then please, allow this band into your musical collection. But let me get one thing off my chest, I'm not going to even attempt to describe the schizophrenic guitars that have somehow discovered how to walk an invisible fence that lies between rhythm and lead. And there's no way I could relate to you how such brilliance and flavor arises from this seemingly chaotic mess. Those of you who prefer more beatifully symmetric and accessible indie should check out the amazing music of American Football, another bead on the Kinsella necklace. But you can't always drink chocolate milk, even if it's as good as the American Football flavor. Sometimes you need a red wine; an acquired taste like Owls. In place of the accessibility is perpetual mystery. It will force you to rewrite your definition of music. Think Zen. Think Jazz. Think of a carrot dangling from a fishing pole, just centimeters from your face, puzzling and enticing you into gloriously alien territories. The unadventurous need not apply. But to all the acrobats I leave you this truth about Owls: I am certainly addicted."

The Kinsellas do it again...

Nathan Pierce | Lebanon, IL United States | 04/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Good Lord. How do they do it? We marveled at Cap N' Jazz. We puzzled at, but loved Joan of Arc. We fell in love with American Football's beauty. Owls does not break the chain of genius. Imagine Joan of Arc with a consistant beat and Tim Kinsella singing (mostly) on-pitch notes. Now imagine the coolest songwriting ever penned. Owls fits somewhere in the middle. It's jazzy and sporatic. It's beautiful and disturbing. It's like nothing you've ever heard. After a few listens you will thank the music gods for allowing this record to be made. It will suck you in and not let you go. This is one of those albums that you won't leave home without. It simply will not leave your CD player no matter how hard you try. Well worth every penny. The only downside to this record is that it only has eight tracks. Mike, Tim... give us another one please..."

The Density of Space

Matthew D. Haller | Idaho | 08/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To describe this debut is like describing the density of colors between clouds, or the layers of a jawbreaker - there are so many that they tend to blend together in chaotic perfection. Musical anarchy dosed in existential motion. The music alone is worth the purchase. The guitar work is like the voice of an alienated spirit, undaunted and complex. The rythmn is often joyous and warm, inticing every muscle to twitch and switch in accordance. Take only your emotional attachment to Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc, AF, etc, but not your musical expections - though not far off the mark - The Owls have reached a structual perfection and the music has grown a symbiotic relationship with Tim's abrasive vocals and cryptic yet simple poetry. I recommend this CD with all of my heart and mind."