Who? San Francisco's Birdmonster hatched two years ago when all four bandmates -- Peter Arcuni (vocals/guitar), David Klein (guitar), Justin Tenuto (bass/tambourine/melodica), Zach Winter (drums/cello) -- discovered they lived within a three-block radius of each other. In fact, a few days before they started playing together, Tenuto served Arcuni an undercooked crepe at a local diner.

What's the Deal? Birdmonster's first full-length, No Midnight, is an eclectic album rife with rollicking pop-punk intricacies, Bruce Springsteen-inspired vocal intonations, and the occasional country twang from a banjo. With the help of producer/mixer Bradley Cook (Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age), Birdmonster serve up a fun, upbeat rock record that, even when addressing life's misgivings, has a hopeful outlook: "In the bedroom they're talking shit about what we did...I'm beggin' you please, let's run away my little sparrow" ("Sparrow").

Fun Fact: The band once turned down drinks with Death Cab for Cutie so they could play a scheduled show in San Francisco. In fact, for guitarist David Klein, fans come first: "It doesn't matter if we are playing to 5 people or 5000 people, we put on the same raucous show. When we get on stage we have a great time and play every show as if it's our last." MONIQUE LAVIE

Now Hear This:
Birdmonster - "Cause You Can" (Download MP3)

Talk: Would you fly away with Birdmonster? COMMENT

On the Web: birdmonster.com