THE WALLBIRDS have a way with a crowd, but are struggling to get the cheeky presence through on this record. The A-side (and it's nice to actually have one) "The Avenue" is a tale of coitus interruptus and a swift exit. The lyric is as confused as the event and the song stumbles, quick-slow, like a guilty man with his trousers down. Walt's voice is appealingly rough and bluesy and his acoustic guitar is cheerful as chips. Harmonica is OK without adding anything really useful. Luke plays tidy bass and Chris drums like a skiffle group on scout camp. There is not a lot of tune to go for - it’s a bit of wholemeal rockabilly hoedown for a wild shouting night on the beer.
B-side "Memories" has nice touches of dobro (I'm guessing here) and piano. But there are some bizarre lyrics, covering an unexplained end to a love affair with a cheerful wish for early violent death. Apart from threatening every bone in her body and hoping she gets run down by a bus, the lyrics include the line "you can take the shirt right off my back". It’s one of the best in the song (there are one or two stinkers) - but it does ring a bell and has me digging out THE ROLLING STONES' "Sweet Virginia" from the "Stripped" album. This has the line I was reminded of: "got to scrape the shit right off your shoe", and a very similar sound and feel. The contrast is not kind to THE WALLBIRDS. When music gets this close to basic every touch has to be right and there are clumsy moves in what THE WALLBIRDS are doing on this single.
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It will certainly do for now, especially as a tour memento for those enjoying the live set. But those lyrics are pretty sloppy and there are no hooks to call me back in.
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