In The Green Room: Birds Are Spies
Back with their signature psychedelic rock and modern jazz sound, Birds are Spies open up about their new apocalyptic track ‘THWONK’ and debuting the single at the Ed Castle launch show. Here’s what to expect…
Image Randy Larcombe
Congratulations on your new single ‘THWONK’! Tell us more about this track.
‘THWONK’ has been one of our favourite tracks to record and play live. It has a very cinematic feel with floaty vocals and a punchy rhythm section, and it has been so much fun to workshop. We spent a lot of time post-production working on this tune, mainly with the vocal tracks, specifically in the chorus, which was really enjoyable for Gracie. Lyrically, the song is essentially about the end of the human race and how the world will have a chance to recover once humans are no longer on Earth. It’s a bit dark, but I think the harmony behind these lyrics adds a huge amount of emotional depth, which is what makes this tune so special to us.
You’re debuting the single in SA at the Ed Castle launch show. What does it mean to you to be a part of this show?
We are super pumped to be a part of this show, it’s going to be really exciting playing the first Saturday night show at the Ed Castle. It’ll be super fun playing in a new venue for the first time with a fresh set of songs, too. We love the feeling of playing new music to new people at new venues, and to be able to do this in Adelaide is really special and unique. This will also be the last show of our tour, so it will be a really nice ending to the busy six shows up the East Coast.
What should we expect from your set?
Firstly, expect a really loud set! We’ll be playing most songs from our EP Something Isn’t Right that came out in January, along with our latest single ‘THWONK’. We also have a fresh set of tunes we’ve been working on which we will be debuting on tour. We are super keen to play them in Adelaide. Some of the new tunes are a bit heavier than the ones on the EP, which we are really excited to share with everyone. We are also starting to mess around with live sampling and more vocal effects, taking our live sound in a slightly new direction.
You’re taking the single on an Australian tour in July. What shows are you most excited to play?
I’d say we are most excited for Canberra and Melbourne. Last tour, Canberra was one of our best and favourite shows. Dave at Dissent Cafe & Bar treated us with some of the best hospitality we have ever received from a live music venue. Melbourne will also be super fun - we are playing at the Old Bar, which we haven’t played at yet. We are starting to build connections in Melbourne, so it’ll be really nice to see everyone again and share our live performance interstate.
In April this year, you supported Psychedelic Porn Crumpets on their SA leg of their Australian tour. What was this experience like?
This was one of our top moments as a band so far. The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are our favourite band and it was such a bucket list support for us. All the dudes are super lovely as well, and we got to have a long yap with them after, even though I think they really wanted to go home. They are also such a great band to watch live. We probably take too much inspiration from them. Jack also quoted us as ‘they are a great band’ during their set, which we thought was super awesome
What’s next for you musically?
More music and more touring is definitely on the cards for us in the next couple of years. We’re looking to record and release another EP. Maybe make our way over to the West Coast to make some new friends over there. In terms of writing, we like to write material that challenges us, pushing the boundaries in terms of our writing abilities and also playing abilities. Generally, we are going to be looking at how we can write heavier riffs while making it fit over Gracie’s vocals, while also using maybe some extra sauce from sampling and effects.
Birds Are Spies play Ed Castle on July 26.
