Inspired by some sort of wildlife-induced paranoia in an Amsterdam park, Astral Swans have released a fabulous piece of whimsy entitled ‘Bird Songs’.
There is a sweet doleful sound to ‘Bird Songs’, infused as it is with a sense of melancholia and a slight self-deprecatory air. I’m reminded of The Eels and The Lightning Seeds: pure pop with intelligence and a killer melody.
Matthew Swan – the musician behind the band – says of ‘Bird Songs’:
I penned this song while on tour in Europe. Walking through Amsterdam’s Vondelpark right before Christmas, I was alone, underdressed, and submerged in depressed self loathing. The lyrics are the imagined paranoid heckling of the animals within the park of my mind. They mock me and the reality I have brought upon myself.
Surely self-loathing is the cornerstone of creativity if this is the result:
There’s a psychedelic tone in the air with this one.
You can download or stream the single here or, even better, get it directly from the artist through the link below, where all the proceeds are being donated to the Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society providing accommodation and assistance to women and children in need:
This song is self-produced with sound engineer Paul Chirka, who recorded Astral Swans’s 2018 album, Strange Prison. Calgary musician Laura Hickli joined on background vocals, with drums by Brock Geiger (Reuben and the Dark), as well as rhythm guitar by Jim Bryson (Kathleen Edwards, The Tragically Hip, Howe Gelb).
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