50 years after its release, Nightbirds stands not only as the group's peak, but as one of the most vibrant and scintillating releases from the glam rock era. In a moment when popular favor tended to congeal around lone white men making music, Labelle dug into the power of its triadic bond. The three voices wove together, each distinct in its character and yet all pulsing with a singular desire: to cleave open the limits of this world and clear the ground for the future that hung just above the clouds, sounding down to us, so close you could taste it in the rain.