"With Birds from Dead Red Sea, moody and caressing waves of lyrical beauty fall over you, inspiring you to sing along before you even know the words. The emotions capture you and steal you away, until you're lost within the music. The sadness, the loss, the angst, are rendered in shades of truth and energy. The songs roll into a dynamic swirl of melodic aggression, with the vocals keeping the music moving forward until, with a soft sigh, you're at the end." - Big Takeover

"Dead Red Sea's unique blend of melodic indie rock and bluesy beats give the songs on Birds a sort of soothing, melancholy mood, while the music itself is something to lie back, tap your heels and snap your fingers to. The effect floors me more each time I hear it. Birds is full of monumental, awe-inspiring songs that demand to be heard - or rather absorbed - time and again with their hook-filled rhythmic guitars and pacifying vocals. Birds is now one of the most cherished records in my entire collection...another gem stamped with a Deep Elm logo. Songs like Obscene Calls and Somewhere In The Universe are likely to remain among my most-played tracks for a long time." - Punk International

"Fans of Cross My Heart rejoice, as their most visible characteristic - the strong, rich, and passionate vocals of Ryan Shelkett - are present in Dead Red Sea on Birds. Shelkett has finally found the creative outlet he's been looking for in this new band. His vocals feel at home as there's a sense of melancholy roots-rock underlying most of the songs. It's in these softer melodies and more deliberate structures that Shelkett's vocals are able to really shine. His strong, emotional voice it fits perfectly, and in these quieter, more despondent songs, he and the rest of the band creates some mellow and emotional indie rock." - Delusions Of Adequacy

"When Cross My Heart decided to call it quits, the kids didn't have to be morose for long; their demise has consequently blessed us with this project, Ryan Shelkett's Dead Red Sea and their debut, Birds. This is Ryan's emo side coming through - spacey arrangements, delicately plucked guitars and whispery vocals are the name of the game, and Dead Red Sea inject more than enough originality to pull it off and keep it interesting. Experimentation with different sonic palettes like the country guitar on It's So Hard To Be Alive or the Agent Orange-esque guitar on the title track make Birds a really fascinating listen. It's impossible to tell what this band is going to do next. I mean, have you ever heard of an emo band being compared to Agent Orange? That in itself should tell you that these guys aren't content to follow the beaten path. As for songwriting, of course this is top notch. Lyrically, Ryan's melancholic obsession on mental illness carries through this record, as Love Is In the Air And Is Floating Away and Nowhere, Nothing give a good impression of the general lyrical tone. Dead Red Sea will have you doing back flips in your bedroom." - Deep Fry Bonanza

"Ryan Shelkett of Dead Red Sea is the driving force on Birds, with a somber voice and some almost Neil Young-caliber guitar blues. High compliments are not spoken lightly, and Dead Red Sea nail all that is great with Bad Man, a song as depressing as it is lovely. The band has variance and talent, yanking charms out of their hat such as the instrumental mantra of the title track. Whether musical jams sans vocals, or poetry driven tales and tunes of woe, Dead Red Sea are interesting and endearing. Impressive." - Friction

"I'm greatly impressed by Dead Red Sea and their debut Birds. With song titles like Love Is In The Air And Is Floating Away and It's So Hard To Be Alive, bouncy, happy pop is clearly not on the agenda. But unlike many singers, Ryan Shelkett knows how to carry a tune, and does so without sounding stuffed up. More importantly, the music on Birds sounds extremely full...a far cry from the simple picking and chord progressions practiced by many bands for whom screaming about broken hearts is a higher priority than musical ability. To my ears, Birds is thing of beauty." - Splendid

"Deep Elm Records continues to impress with Birds from the Baltimore quartet Dead Red Sea. Like their label mates, front man Ryan Shelkett and company create indie rock that's a cut above the competition. The highlight track, We're Not Kids Anymore is wistful and melancholy...a patient showcase for Shelkett's considerable songwriting talent. The indie rock sound is all in place...strained, sparse and subdued, but it never gets boring and never goes drifting." - Suite 101

"Dead Red Sea have a sound on Birds that is stripped down, clean and very atmospheric. Dead Red Sea are that time just before the sun comes up, when it's cold and dark and you're drifting into an alcohol induced coma, snug under the duvet and forgetting that you're even alive. October music for sure." - Fracture

"Very impressive, Birds from Dead Red Sea features clean sparkling guitars coupled with patient rhythms. Laid back emo rock that's well played with nice changes and an overall sound that just oozes class. There's also some jazzy elements that add an extra touch to the already confident songwriting, and Dead Red Sea's quality becomes increasingly apparent with repeated listens." - Mass Movement

"Dead Red Sea churns out gently rolling emo and duly satisfying songs on Birds. Very deliberate, but that in no way takes away from the joy of these pieces. The song construction is simple and direct...almost in the realm of alt country singer / songwriters, though the sound itself is still emo: Vaguely atonal guitars, less-than-perfect vocals and strident rhythms. All this makes for a good mix. Dead Red Sea veers from influence to influence, depending on the needs of the song. The overall sound is thick and full. I like the way these songs have come together. It's hardly typical, but close enough to be comfortable. I surely would like to hear how these boys develop their ideas in the next couple of years. Will be most interesting." - Aiding And Abetting

"Birds is a pretty neat disc from Dead Red Sea that falls in the range of heavier emo, with moments of darker, bluesy rock. Featuring the great vocalist Ryan Shelkett from Cross My Heart, Birds is a natural progression in sound and spirit, but with a more open feel. Dead Red Sea are often direct with their song structures, and no wandering guitar parts slow down their pace of venting. After a few spins, I'm growing to like this more and more. Emo for the heavy at heart." - Pastepunk

Love Is In The Air And Is Floating Away i've been trapped by my senses. natural kind of fences. that i can't cut through. and time takes away a piece of you. a piece that you thought you knew. it's all in the breeze. now it's floating all around me. invisible thing that i'll never see. but when you think that you got one. it's only just illusion. a trick that was up your sleeve. all that i know. all that i needed was me. all that i know. all that i need is me Bad Man i'm such a bad man. on the road with my bad friends. stop to look at the tragedy. on the road. the road to nowhere. i'm missing all these things. that i left on the side of the road. i didn't lose but misplaced my mind. and i gave a sentimental sacrifice. and all the things that you do. confuse you. you're my charity. i hope you see. and on the drive home. the light put the innocent on your face. and i'm stuck with my bad things. am i going straight to hell. and all the things that you say. get in the way. you're my charity. i hope you see. and all the things that you do. destroy you. you die for the truth that you lose. stop driving me on the road. the road to nowhere Humanoid (instrumental) The Rain you're the rain. wash yourself all over me. all through a life. and all through me. time takes trick from history. you're waking up now. but not with me. through the windshield. life moves fast and free. talking with spirits in the trees. all through a life. and all through me. you're head over heels. but not with me. now is the time. where we lose our mind a million ways. lazy days. lazy days. all over me Somewhere In The Universe see how they go in perfect alignment. see how the other side lives above the horizon. i call to say hello. a word that can change your mind beyond despair. and you know it all. it all was a lie. it all was a lie. now that you know. it all was a lie. it all. all was a lie. everyone tries to tell me there's a star for me. i guess that you weren't shining bright enough. and i call to say goodbye. goodbye It's So Hard To Be Alive standing on the edge. the only way is down. at least right now it can't get much worse. and the doctor says. no reason to harm yourself. and i wish i believed that. and today the car wouldn't start. got a broken heart. i just went to sleep. now i've been committed. and i don't know when i'll get out of here. and the doctor says. just a few more test. and i wish i believed that. sometimes you just want to sleep all day. but someone's on your bed. and it's so. so hard. so. so hard. just to be alive. be alive. be alive. alive one more day Obscene Calls are you making up words. no no no. are you coining a phrase. no no no. i want to add to your afterthought. no no no. the mind is like a disease. oh no no no. i'm bouncing off the walls. i'm making obscene calls. am i making you mad. no no no. please pack your bags. and go go go. i'm bouncing off the walls. i'm making obscene calls. sleep now and think it out. sleep now. no no no. i'm bouncing off the walls. i'm making obscene calls We're Not Kids Anymore i've seen the best in you. sometimes. we're not kids anymore. you've seen the worst in me. sometimes. we're not kids anymore. you say you don't want me around. you say you don't need me around. you left me lots of little clues. let me know what you want. lots of little answers. that are written in your book Birds (instrumental) The Red Sea the sky is falling. the church is burning. the river stopped running. the ground is opening. the earth has stopped moving. nothing is surviving. we're headed into a new era of humanity. where diamonds turn back to coal. and flesh turns to machine. the land fills will explode. all the garbage will turn into a city. all the corpses rise from their grave. and bleed back into society Nowhere, Nothing am i nowhere. am i nothing. am i nowhere. am i nothing. when i start to sit down. the world starts moving. am i nowhere. am i nothing