Philadelphia based art-folk duo @ (pronounced ‘at’) share a new single entitled ‘Bird’, taken from their debut 4AD album Autosmile, out on Friday 16 October. The band have also announced a new London headline show for June 2027 alongside a North American headline tour.
‘Bird’ is ushered in by an eerie chromatic trance of acoustic guitar and cinematic clarinet passages, juxtaposed by a gorgeously uplifting choral harmony; a portrayal of battling wills. The band says: “This song was inspired by dead baby birds that kept appearing on my deck. It was written on a bike ride through Druid Hill Park in Baltimore. The lyrics have lots of puns which hopefully offset their hopelessness.”
‘Bird’ arrives alongside a surreal music video directed by Caity Arthur, who writes:
“Give me warmth, give me death, whatever I don’t want it
I walked out on the deck to put a hole in my head”
“These lines from ‘Bird’ stuck out to me first; jarring, casual, something I can see myself saying. I liked the song’s mix of funniness and macabre. The week I started planning this video, a beautiful black and white bird died on my own balcony. Within a couple days, it was hollowed and eaten away by flies and ants. I heard the song, then saw the bird on my own balcony with the video taking shape in my mind; all a strange and dreamlike sequence. I am an advocate of finding beauty in sadness and dark things, instead of staying away from them.” Watch here.
“Decomposed baby bird come to rest in my doorway
Should have given him a funeral on the first day’”.
‘Bird’ follows two previous singles off Autosmile — ‘Punish My Mind’, a dystopian Beach Boys-esque track complete with fluttering woodwinds and raucous distorted monkey howls, and the impressive nearly 7-minute album title track ‘Autosmile’, which claimed Pitchfork’s ‘Best New Track’ among other wide-spread acclaim.
Pre-order / pre-save Autosmile here.
Stream / download ‘Bird’ here.
