CMW Live: Birds of Wales LEE'S PALACE - MARCH 6 - by Robert Lake - What a refreshing band these guys are. What started out as a sneer building up on my face, right at the beginning of their first song, quickly changed into a great big grin. At first sight, I thought, "Man who are these guys? Like some country rock band probably doing YMCA camp tours, playing to little kids round the fire pit?" Oh, how wrong I was. What might have become mind-numbingly cheerful, acoustic bubblegum rock — which is what I expected — never did. It was thanks to the star of this band, the lead guitar. By the second song, it had converted me. While the sound is a bit geeky and the songs become somewhat predictable, the guitar consistently and inventively tilted what were otherwise happy, upbeat pop songs with just a little hint of darkness. It created a very snug-fitting balance throughout the whole set; the songs never got too bright, nor did they get too heavy or brooding. The tone never strayed too far from genuinely human emotions, honest in their often subtle complexity. Overall the music Birds of Wales create is very rich and has a lot of charm and depth. It's like catchy pop with an undercurrent of meanness to it that gives that perfect blend of reality. My favourite band for CMW's Thursday night.