From Creative Loafing March 27th 2008 Issue by Chris Parker Playtime is over Silent Kids bolster their sound It's bigger and better for the Silent Kids, who've beefed up their numbers and upgraded their "fi" from low to high. Frontman Michael Oakley's lithe, lean tenor maneuvers between soaring pop majesty and chunky, melodic alt-rock that suggests Beulah sideswiping Superchunk as they pull out of Modest Mouse's driveway. The Kids celebrate the release of their second album, Dinosaurs Turn Into Birds, this week. Soaked in ringing hooks and adrenalized rhythms, songs veer from psych-pop clamor ("Soccer Riot") to jagged garage-fuzz ("Pacific Northwest Blues") and acid-folk ("One Hundred Years from Now"). The latter seems particularly apt, with its shambling warning, "Nobody knows the kind of trouble we're in/Nobody seems to think it all might happen again." Oakley's an amateur ornithologist, which helps explain the title, and there are several tracks with a nature theme. But whether it's the spooky drift of opening track "Stars & Rust" or the wiry lament of "The Hissing of the Summer Grass," a charismatic lilt and inventive arrangements fuel the album from start to finish. Originally a trio, Silent Kids added Brandon Arnold to play bass and moved bassist Jeff Holt to guitar (which he plays in Luigi) to help fill out the sound. "It's fine on record, but was sounding a little thin live," Oakley says. They got help making the release from their label, Two Sheds, and from Holt's Luigi bandmate Ben Price, who produced the album. It's resulted in a richer, deeper sound than the group's lo-fi debut, Tomorrow Waits, during which Oakley bragged about subbing oregano in place of a $20 maraca. "We weren't on a label when we recorded that record, so we had to spend all our money [on it]," Oakley explains. "Now we're on Two Sheds, which helped pay for the recording, too, so we don't have to worry so much about recording on the cheap." Not to say there's anything wrong with that – but you can hear the improvement. When you make rock as smart and catchy as the Silent Kids, why not hear it loud and clear?