The Riflebirds Of Portland - April (2026)

The Riflebirds of Portland (ROP) were once known simply as The Riflebirds. Their hometown was added to the group's name when they recently discovered there's another band using their shorter, original moniker. Both bands are named after a beautiful and unique looking bird.

It's only after Lee Oser and producer Marvin Etzioni reunited two years ago that the quartet regrouped after decades apart to record a second album. Etzioni is well known as a founding member of Lone Justice.

ROP have a unique backstory. They released two singles and an album simply titled April only on cassette way back in 1989. Earlier this year it was finally released on both CD and on a long-playing twelve-inch record.

The lineup on this thirty-seven year-old set is composer Lee Oser on rhythm guitar and bass; his wife, singer Kate Oser; lead guitarist Kevin Kraft and drummer Kevin Jarvis. They got lots of help from in-demand, recording session all-stars including multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz who may have played on every Americana track ever recorded and the late Kenny Edwards on bass who was an original member of Linda Ronstadt's Stone Ponies.

Eight of the nine songs came from the pens of either Oser, Etzioni, or both working in tandem except for a really fine, rocking interpretation of a deep Beatles track, "And Your Bird Can Sing." April is an album that clocks in at under a half-hour, so it goes by quickly and dares you to listen to it again. It took several spins for all of the songs to sink in, but now I'm hooked.

April is definitely a rock record infused with a singer-songwriter sensibility. It sounds more 80s than 70s but there are no drum machines (thank you for that) and the band makes only minimal use of electronic keyboards. There are, however, lots of acoustic instruments to complement Lee Oser and Kraft on their electric axes and even a horn section on "After Today."

Kate Oser's vocals may remind listeners of Sandy Denny or Annie Haslam, but what really makes April special is the songwriting. "Might as Well Stay" - a joint Oser/Etzioni collaboration - is about a shipwrecked couple in which the writer tells his lover that he'd love her anywhere so they might as well stay right where they are. "Michael" was inspired by the death of Oser's brother from an overdose at age thirty-three, but because he turns it into a love song for Kate to sing, it isn't at all depressing. He also tells us you should never walk down "Memory Street" to a cool but slow-burning, rock arrangement. "Pieces of Time" is the lead-off single and is made for radio.

With its unique arrangements, thoughtful songwriting and Kate Oser's fine vocals it's a shame April took so many calendar flips to become available to the public again.

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