Birddog – The Trackhouse, The Valley, The Liquor Store Drive-Thru
What differentiates a standard-issue folkie from an alternative-acoustic-Americana-artiste? Hard to say exactly, but Birddog’s Bill Santen falls into the latter category with his seven-song debut. This young Kentucky-bred minstrel spent most of his time drifting along the West Coast until settling in Portland, Oregon, a while back. It was there that he became friendly with Elliott Smith, who in turn produced and played on both sides of a Birddog single. Those two songs, “Killer” and “Parked Car Homestead”, are included here and reflect Smith’s pensive influence without overwhelming Santen’s own idiosyncratic balladry.
Besides the sessions produced by Smith, there are also tunes constructed with Dave Way (down Los Angeles way) and everyone’s favorite weatherman, Paul K. (from Kentucky). Drawing from a variety of rural vocabularies, Santen’s dry holler exudes a fluid confidence that unifies the disparate work on this record. With spare, acoustic instrumentation and a wry, sardonic wit, Santen sounds vaguely familiar without imitating anyone in particular.
Down-home in the most positive sense, Birddog appears to be whatever Bill Santen wants it to be. With an implicit element of psychedelia lurking behind his countrified picking and lucid drawl, Santen is focused and direct. Tuneful and frisky, these seven performances (plus a bonus track) are probably just a warm-up for one well-trained Birddog.