BIRDS OF A FEATHER (MAINSTRIKE) - The Past The Present CD

Starting of with Eastern percussion you might expect a band influenced by Shelter. Than the music kicks in and you know it's that other Ray and Porcell band that gets these five guys (or should I say man?) from the Netherlands going. Birds X Of A Feather take their influences from '88 bands like Youth Of Today, Chain Of Strength and Judge, as well as second wave bands like Ten Yard Fight and In My Eyes. 'The Subject Changed' for instance has some catchy hooks which wouldn't be misplaced on the Hands Tied 7" whereas the titlesong hints towards Mouthpiece and Ensign during the 'Direction of Things To Come' era. Still you can't accuse the band of sounding like their US peers. The overall sound has much more in common with European bands like ManLiftingBanner, Mainstrike and Reaching Forward. The ManLiftingBanner and Mainstrike connection is very obvious here since singer Bigma was in both bands. Besides Bigma Birds X Of A Feather consists of members who all been involved in hardcore for a long time. Most of them already attend shows when Youth Of Today and Gorilla Biscuits first toured Europe in '89. Therefore it's great to have a band like this around to show younger kids that hardcore and straight edge doesn't have to be a youth cultured thing. You can still be as committed and 'punk' aged 40 and over than you were in your teens. The Dutch straight edge scene has reached an all time low nowadays with only a few bands keeping things strong, hearing an inspired and furious record like this hopefully brings the situation around again.