CLIFFDIVER Bring The Underdog Heat With ‘Birdwatching’

Oklahoma residents CLIFFDIVER have delivered us their second full-length record, with ‘Birdwatching’. This marks their first full-length since 2022’s ‘Exercise Your Demons’. The album dives into a lot of the themes of the previous record regarding relationships, living day to day in your thirties, and the beauty of the little things in life. This band’s got something to prove and are here to show you why they’re ready to break through in the scene, and aren’t afraid to explore new sounds and incorporate them into the overall sound.

The record opens with “thirty, flirty, and thriving!!!”, and we get a nice little acoustic intro that feels right and comforting to start off with. You immediately get this band’s vibe right off the bat with their signature kind of sound, mixing both pop-punk and ska into one pretty seamlessly. I love getting that acoustic intro, before getting into a fast type of track…it’s so fun. You also see just how well vocalists Briana Wright and Joey Duffy go well together in their delivery. It’s followed up with one of the first couple singles from the record, with “dayz gone”. They tap into more straight up pop-punk vibes that feel right up my alley and what I look for in the genre. Briana provides excellent lead vocals, while Joey offers some nice background vocals throughout. It’s got a hell of a chorus, and they show you that they’ve got bangers for days to show off. It really gives you a good sense of energy to start off the record, along with the previous track. It definitely makes for two highlights right off the bat from the album. We’re followed up with some more sunny day type of energy, with “team fight tactics”. It gives me such vibes of the 2010’s for some reason, and it’s a nice sense of nostalgia while still feeling like their own. The melodies feel similar to how Blink-182 goes about their songs, and the lyrics feel reminiscent of someone like Origami Angel and how honest and personable specifically to them (with the references and such). Shoutout to Waffle House by the way. The synth adds so much to this kind of music too, like the different elements this band provides in their songs really adds nice layers to them. 

We’re followed up by another single from the record, and another highlight with “lord have mercer”. The bass right off the bat really shines pretty nicely, delivered by bassist Tyler Rogers. I appreciate this song goes a different direction from the first few songs, and is more bouncy and dance-y (especially during the chorus). It’s just a really nice change of pace and starts off the exploration of different elements from here on out. The sax during the bridge and in the background throughout again add to the likability of the track, by saxophonist Dony Nickles. It flows into the next track pretty nicely too, that being one of the first couple singles with “black lodge breakfast burrito (ltd time only)”. This track has a lowkey grittiness that I appreciate, like it’s something we’re not used to from this band. It gives this track a dark element within it’s lyrics and the way they’re offered by Joey. The lyrics feel so honest, dark, and you get that sense throughout the song like the pit in your stomach. There’s a type of haunting feeling we get on this song that feels raw, and it’s even felt in the outro with no singing and that is truly impressive. The sax in the background of the outro are an excellent touch, and Briana‘s spoken word bits too. It goes into the next track with a more slower approach so far, with “midnight mass”. The acoustic feeling with both of their voices is so soothing to me, it captures the intimate feeling so well. The lyrics dive into mourning a complicated relationship and the memories that stay with you. I definitely feel like sax is a great addition to this genre, it’s tough to argue against it. “Losing you is the price to be okay” is a line that hits pretty hard and captures this song with that one line. We then jump to an interlude as we’re in the middle of the record, with “guitar pro 5 theme”. I appreciate just how nice the acoustic sounds with the birds in the background. We’re onto the most out of nowhere track on this record, with “CLIFFDRIVER”. It’s a one-minute track with just straight up heavy vibes and on the hardcore side. “I am a bird, I am flying so high” is such a hard line and feels true to the personality of this band so shoutout to that. 

We’re follow that energy with more synth, which is always welcome in “would tho”. The energy is picked backed up on the record, and Joey provides some excellent screams throughout this track. It gives off such Hot Mulligan vibes when they try to experiment in their music as well. The bass shines here once again, throughout the aggression given throughout. Briana‘s screams during the bridge and breakdown go so unbelievably hard that this has gotta go off live. I appreciate just how dance-y the chorus feels, as it’s balanced with the heavy energy from the rest of the track. We get more acoustic vibes and the most intimate track on this record, with “baby billy’s bible bonkers”. The lyrics feel incredibly personal as Briana is singing them, you wonder who this song is about and the moody feeling it brings to this song. The delivery is so seamless and emotional even, like it’s simple yet effective in it’s execution. “Why don’t you want this life with me?” is another line that hits hard from the overall lyrics from the record. We’re onto the penultimate track from the record, and another one of the singles with “goin for the garbage plate”. It picks back up the energy from the last track, providing some more classic vibes to the genre and that summer feeling. It makes sense why this was a single, because this is yet another banger and highlight from this album. Joey‘s vocals as they’re lowkey remind me of Chris from Can’t Swim, so that’s pretty neat especially on this track. The lyrics here feel way too relatable, especially “I can’t go to shows without feeling so old”…like, same dude. Carpool‘s feature on this feels so fitting and really brings that 2010 nostalgia to the genre as the background screams on the last chorus are great too. Also, Briana provides excellent background vocals throughout this song and it makes for this track being one of the best off the record. We’ve reached the end of the record, with a fitting closer with “i reckon you might could i s’pose”. It really brings the album and it’s themes to a nice ending and makes the album experience worth it. It gives me vibes of their debut record honestly and it brings some slight emo energy that I appreciate too. The buildup is really solid into a great singalong at the end, really ties this record together in a great way. 

For a sophomore record, CLIFFDIVER impresses and does what a band like them should early on in their career. ‘Birdwatching’ continues to give us what they’re excellent at, as well as exploring new territory and places to go within the genre. This scene better watch out for them because they could very well be the next breakout band going forward, deservedly so. This album should be on your radar if you’re even remotely into the genre, as CLIFFDIVER deserve to climb higher than the underdog status after this.