Birthday Girls

A ticket for Sunday’s gig is surety for your indie cred. You’ve got Birthday Girls (distorted bass, yeah!), The Balconies (Ottawa band does good), Wintersleep and Young Empires (club bands hit the big stage), Metric (competing with Blue Rodeo for the title of Band that Plays Bluesfest Every Year) and The Weeknd — ooohhh those tune are stuck in my head. The Weeknd! - Ottawa Magazine

New dance-punk/post-punk band from Ottawa. They sent their new self-titled EP to me shortly before Christmas via mediafire which would normally be grounds for immediate deletion but they’re Canadian so I gave them a pass and checked it out anyway. SOUNDCLOUD or BANDCAMP, people – read the guidelines.

Anyway, getting back on topic, here’s their self-description:

“Birthday Girls combines distorted bass with synthesizer, live drums, and harsh vocals for a distinctive sound that draws from our main influences including bands such as: Death From Above 1979, Bloc Party, The Strokes, Foals, No Age, and Wavves.”

I would add The Killers (at least musical style-wise) to that list if they can ever get to a point where they can afford a better producer. I see potential for something big here. - Different Kitchen

What a cold, damp, rainy Monday in November needs is a sharp kick in the arse to get the blood flowing, fists pumping, and adrenaline coursing. Ottawa’s Birthday Girls is just what the doctor ordered. Their melodic, synth-heavy, bass-thumping sounds pay homage to heroes Death From Above 1979 and Bloc Party, as drummer Lloyd Alexander said in a recent local interview, ““We’ve always liked the more dance-oriented punk music… we want people to dance.” The three piece–rounded out by Kyle Kilbride on bass and vocals and Kevin Donnelly on synths–have released their debut four-song EP, a tight collection of fast-moving, high-energy blow-outs that will certainly inspire a few rumps to shake it on the dance floor.

Birthday Girls is currently streaming in its entirety on the band’s social networking sites (see links below). There doesn’t seem to be any shows or events in the near future, but I think once word gets out about Birthday Girls, the invitations to come and party will start coming in fast and furious. - Quick Before It Melts

EP review by carl perks

Most dance punk bands doom their credibility when their music fails to make the crowd move. This is usually due to the proportion of time they spend on-stage compared to off-stage.

When I saw all three members of Birthday Girls, a post/dance punk band from Ottawa, rocking out on the dance floor at the Dubma$hine rave on Halloween-Saturday, I knew that getting anyone’s two left feet to step into dance shoes was not an issue that was out of their comprehension.

They recently released a self-titled EP that concludes my hypothesis with concord. Though composed of only four songs, the album sets the band’s musical intentions in a promising direction.

Birthday Girls is Kyle Kilbride on vocals and bass, Kevin Donnelly on synth and Lloyd Alexander on drums. The trio makes a sound that is easily recognisable by the rather uncommon choice of instruments, whereas the bass is unaccompanied by a guitar and the keyboard is not used in conjunction with a drum machine. This unusual composition produces a musical style that is somewhat like the offspring of Does It Offend You Yeah? and Death From Above 1979, if bands had the capacity to copulate and conceive.

Furthermore distinguishing Birthday Girls’ sound is Kilbride’s manner of signing, as most vocalists would moan through heavily auto-tuned microphones when accompanied by dancy, beat-driven synth melodies, he chooses to scream his soul out with the voice of a whiskey-habituated, heavy-metal front man. Somewhat like a milder version of what [Trap] does when they have vocals.

Now having a different sound doesn’t always make the deal, with all the originality in the world, song composition is what causes the waves, but on the make or break scale, Birthday Girls’ first EP makes the break, but breaks even.

The record is divided in two sets of two songs. The first set, “Teenagers” and “Let’s Take This Party Downstairs,” is upbeat and dancy, reminiscent of The Strokes, and the better Shiny Toy Guns songs. The second set, “Balcony and Siren,” are slower songs, sounding more like the latest Yeah Yeah Yeahs works.

All of these tunes, with no exception, start out with excellence and talent, outfoxing electro-rock bands such as The Faint at their own game, stirring head-bobbing, action-inducing instrumentals with beautifully dirty and upbeat drums. The tracks are practically flawless until the choruses, where the melodies seem forced and out of place.

The songs’ refrains are in no way written without talent, but gorgeous keyboard and bass riffs such as the ones found at the beginning of “Siren and Balcony” lead to expect much more than is delivered. The same issue appears in the first set of upbeat songs where energy-inducing verses such as they are found in “Teenagers” reach an anti-climactic end when met with a chorus that is downbeat, yet non-the-less catchy.

Despite that hiccup of a problem, any chance to get your hands on Birthday Girls is a good one. Rock out to tunes like “Let’s Take This Party Downstairs” and hope that the whole piece of cake will be as delicious as this slice of an album.

And to address the matter of the choruses, this is this band’s first EP, considering the fact that they will only get better with time, was is there not to look forward to? - The Dawson Newspaper

Death Ledger is what the Toronto-based Kevin Donnelly does when he's not playing keyboards for Birthday Girls. If you've got a gothic side, you should give this a listen. - Alan Cross

The first band I had pegged to watch yesterday was a young trio from Ottawa called, Birthday Girls, on the Claridge Homes stage at 2:00pm. Lloyd Alexander (drums), Kevin Donnelly (synths), and Kyle Kilbride (bass and vocals) are three friends with similar tastes in music who met in high school. I remember seeing them featured on Alan Cross’s blog back in May and being intrigued by the video he had included in the post. - Music Insanity!

Up next Birthday Girls, not to be confused with Birthday Boys. This trio has lasers and strobes and volume. Their bass and drum combination definitely made me think of the aforementioned DFA 1979. - National Capital Rock

I was enjoying sitting around doing more or less nothing yesterday, so instead of deciding to go and see Bluesfest's Monday lineup, I decided to continue sitting about. No offence to Nickelback, who I don't actually mind. Thus, we get into the wayback machine to Cafe DeKcuf around the end of April. Following Organ Eyes were Birthday Girls, who will hopefully get a show with the Birthday Boys, preferably on a reunion tour of The Birthday Party.

Lasers! Smoke! Bassist and singer Kyle Kilbride!



Synthetic action with Kevin Donnelly; Lloyd Alexander handles drum duties.



Lloyd hits!



The whole lot!



Bonus Kyle!



Kyle bends!



Bonus lasers and Kevin!



Kyle gets in some drum time.



The oddly illuminated end! - National Capital Rock

There are some great local acts, including Birthday Girls, Sound of Lions, the Peptides and Zoo Legacy. - The Ottawa Citizen

NEPEAN - In three short years, Nepean’s Birthday Girls has gone from a small stage at a country fair to Canada’s biggest music festival.
Despite the name, the band has no girls or cake in evidence, just three high school friends and their instruments.

“We’d always known each other through high school and had similar taste in music,” said drummer Lloyd Alexander.

Kevin Donnelly plays synthesizer and Kyle Kilbride is the frontman, playing bass and handling vocals “and a bit of screaming,” Alexander adds.

Despite the fact that all bands must go through categorization, Birthday Girls appears to have kept its options open. Music websites can’t quite pin them down, describing the band as dance punk, electronic, post-punk and dream punk.

The Birthday Girls’ page on Myspace refuses to commit to a style. Under the heading “sounds like” it says simply “a party.”

To hear what the band is all about, search YouTube for their Blood Brothers video.

Alexander said the band isn’t into formulas.

“It won’t be what people have come to expect,” he said of the performance Birthday Girls plans for Bluesfest, which will be the biggest show the band has played in its three-year history.

The trio will perform on the Claridge Homes Stage, one of the largest spaces at Bluesfest.

“It’s going to be an adjustment being on a big stage,” Alexander said, adding that Birthday Girls is used to small, dark clubs. “We expect to make some new fans. It’ll be a high energy show.”

Alexander said the band’s first show was at a battle of the bands at the Metcalfe Fair in October 2009. Faced with a sudden lineup change, they had about a week to prepare.

“We came in third,” he said. “Not bad for pulling it all together in a week.”

With the Ottawa Bluesfest show on the Birthday Girls’ resume, Alexander said the band is already looking for gigs at other festivals. But first things first.

“We’re really stoked for Bluesfest; it’s a big deal,” he said.

Birthday Girls performs at Ottawa Bluesfest on LeBreton Flats on Sunday, July 15, at 2 p.m. on the Claridge Homes Stage. - Your Ottawa Region

Post punk, dream punk, dance punk… the only consensus on the interweb is that the Birthday Girls are some kind of punk. Unless they actually do electronic music. In any case, the three-member Birthday Girls (none of whom have any lady parts) have been bringing their brand of loud, energetic music to the bars of Ottawa since 2009. One tune, Blood Brothers, even won a spot on the Citizen’s list of ten best local songs for 2011.

As the group prepares for their Bluesfest gig this Sunday, July 15, they were kind enough to answer a few questions for Apartment613.

How would you describe your sound?

This about sums it up: ”Indescribable mash up of screamo and nu-rave that sounds like it’s been beamed in from a planet with much better musical taste than Earth.” – The Devil has the Best Tuna

If we had to choose a short list of influences it would probably include Death From Above 1979, Bloc Party, The Strokes, Foals, No Age, and Wavves.

How did the band start?

We (Lloyd and Kyle) were in a typical high school jam rock band towards the end of Grade 12 that fell apart a week before a show. We still had a slot to fill, and a good friend of ours played synthesizer (Kevin), so Birthday Girls was thrown together the next day. A week later we blew everyone’s mind at the show. All five of them. After that we decided to continue and see where it went from there.

What can we expect from your Bluesfest performance?

Noise, sweat, and Usher.

If you were an element on the periodic table, which would you be?

We’d have to be Californium (Cf), it’s unforgettable. Daisy dukes, bikinis on top.
- Apartment 613

Ottawa's Birthday Girls have a present for Radio 3 and it's "Scream My Name", a fuzzy dance rock banger.

From the album Blood Brothers, the track features impassioned vocals, sweeping synths and a pogo inducing drum beat that'll get you bopping under the black light.

Sounds Like: The Strokes if they traded their guitars for keyboards, Death From Above 1979 after a beach vacation.

["Scream My Name" was added to rotation this week on CBC Radio 3] - CBC Radio 3

"Birthday Girls have found a sweet spot between Death From Above 1979 and Bloc Party...with howled vocals sitting comfortably alongside pounding drums and catchy keyboard riffs." - iheartmusic - iheartmusic

"Like it, too? Check out Birthday Girls' Facebook page." - Alan Cross - Alan Cross

"11. Birthday Girls – Blood Brothers" - PhotogMusic - PhotogMusic

“Blood Brothers” named one of the 10 Best Local Songs of 2011 - The Ottawa Citizen - The Ottawa Citizen

"Blood Brothers features four new songs that further cements the Birthday Girls sound with rousing success." - Grayowl Point - Grayowl Point

"We first told you about Birthday Girls back in November of last year and now we're stoked to inform you that they've just released a brand new EP called Blood Brothers." - The Indie Machine - The Indie Machine

"Incorporating the aggressive vocals of screamo punk (think Death From Above 1979) and the feet movement of indie dance (LCD Soundsystem) “Blood Brothers” is the kind of song that doesn’t need a gang to watch its back." - write.click.cook.listen - write.click.cook.listen

"Ottawa's dance-punk band Birthday Girls are loud, rambunctious, and in your face." - Audio Splash - Audio Splash

"The Barrhaven post-punk trio has the same frenetic energy and the same stripped- down instrumental assault [as Death From Above 1979] - drums, Korg keyboard and unbridled bass guitar." - The Ottawa Citizen - The Ottawa Citizen

"Indescribable mash up of screamo and nu rave that sounds like it's been beamed in from a planet with much better musical taste than Earth." - The Devil has the Best Tuna - The Devil has the Best Tuna

"Cool post-punk stuff from an Ottawa band. Think Bloc Party spliced with No Age and Death From Above 1979." - Alan Cross - Alan Cross