San Francisco quartet Birdmonster are kind of like a Bay Area version of Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - except that where Leo and his group have an undying devotion to new wave and ska groups like The Jam and The Specials, Birdmonster spike their Fugazi-like rock tunes with nods to American Beauty-era Grateful Dead and early Bruce Springsteen. Revved-up and punky rockers share space with country-inflected tunes, with frontman Peter Arcuni's lived-in vocals the primary point of connection.

Determined to have complete control over their music, Birdmonster released their first EP on the band's own dime. The full-length No Midnight was originally self-released as well, but strong reviews led the band to sign a distribution deal with SpinArt. No Midnight was re-released in August 2006.