Electric Bird Digest

Though the music and members of Seattle’s Young Fresh Fellows are neither young nor fresh, they are definitely far from stale. The Fellows, in the past a seriously unserious rock band, are more measured than ever on Electric Bird Digest, their sixth release. The album is full of catchy little mid-tempo songs with quirky lyrics about such everyday American pursuits as ”Sittin’ on a Pitchfork,” ”Fear Bitterness and Hatred,” and ”Hillbilly Drummer Girl.” Other items, like the lovely ballad ”Whirlpool,” are a tad more thoughtful, and on these the band has some of the small-town whimsicality of the Kinks, circa 1973. Live, the Fellows have a reputation for goofy, drunken, fraternity-esque revelry, and I did once actually witness one band member break another’s arm (by accident) at a gig. But what is rock & roll — especially sweet, friendly, intimate, almost corny rock & roll like this — without a little danger thrown into the mix? B+