Birdman Cult’s debut album blends garage rock, post-punk, and anthemic-doomy energy. In this interview, they discuss their journey, influences, and creative process.
1.
Congratulations on the release of your debut album! How does it feel to finally
put out Birdman Cult after years in the making?
It’s been about three years since we started this project, and yeah, it feels
good to see these songs sitting together on an album rather than just as
singles on a playlist. I’m a big fan of the access platforms like Spotify and
general online streaming culture have given me as a listener, but I still
prefer an album curated by a band, free of algorithms. That’s exactly what we
wanted to achieve. It feels like a statement, or like putting an underline on
that first chapter.
2. Your music blends garage rock and post-punk with a distinctive
“anthemic-doomy rock and roll” sound. How did you arrive at this unique mix of
genres, and what influences helped shape your style?
I think the guys write catchy music, and I can’t write catchy hooks—so that’s
where the anthem stuff comes from, I guess. We’re all fans of ‘90s hip-hop,
various eras of British rock, and Americana. Each member came to this band with
their own musical ‘baggage,’ so nothing was off the table. We’d worked together
in a previous band that was much more schizophrenic in style. For Birdman Cult,
we wanted to celebrate each other’s personal tastes and strengths but do it in
a way that didn’t emulate anything. We don’t think we’re clever or avant-garde
by any means—it was just a decision not to sound like our idols while still
nodding to what came before us, and nudging it all forward a bit to the
unfamiliar. The result is, hopefully, something that has one foot in the past
and the other kicking you up the ass into the future!
3. The album serves as a chronology of the band’s journey, from your debut
single "Snakes" to more recent tracks like "Whiskey
Sunburn." How do these songs reflect the band’s evolution since 2020?
"Snakes" was the first track that embodied what I just mentioned.
It’s a weird mix of rock, punk, hip-hop, and psych, but it manages to not sound
messy or intentionally chaotic. We just told ourselves we could do whatever we
wanted as long as we grounded it in that kind of excitement that came from
"Snakes." We all agreed if we had a sound, then "Snakes"
was it—the baseline to anchor everything back to. Nowadays, that baseline
changes as we mature. Personally, I feel like "TIME" is the most
rounded song on the LP. It’s a good introduction to us and feels
accomplished—that’s what I want from every track: that feeling. Whether it’s
energetic, angry, broody, or tongue-in-cheek, it has to get the hairs on your
neck to stand up and start screaming.
4. Tracks like "Maiden, Mother, Crone" and "Highs and Lows" seem to tackle both personal and political issues. Can you tell us more about the themes you explore across the album?
The band started as the world closed up shop in 2020, and that came with its own pressures for us as a band and as individuals. There are definitely themes of getting older as we all approach the end of our ‘youth,’ and half of us became parents the year we launched. "Maiden, Mother, Crone" is a song about me becoming a father during lockdown and looking at the three women in my life through a different lens. Though I doubt my mam would appreciate being called a crone, haha. It also tapped into a whole neo-pagan theme I was reading up on at the time. "Whiskey Sunburn" was written during the end of the Jeremy Corbyn era of British politics and the beginning of a new two-horse race. It felts pretty hopeless, I suppose, but I’m actually much more buoyant than it comes across. Whether or not you agreed with Corbynism at the time, it was offering an alternative that England ultimately turned down for more of the same old, same old. I guess that’s as political as I get on teh album which is to say, not very—it’s just an angry, barbed shot at the old guard.
5. Your sound has been described as raw and high-octane, but also with a lot of emotional depth. How do you balance the energy of your music with the more introspective and reflective elements?
It helps that we all just understand the assignment—no one’s trying to drag us off into jazz-funk to scratch their personal creative itches. We discuss our sound and general direction fairly often. I don’t think the guys write throwaway riffs, so I never write throwaway lyrics, even when I’m being silly because the music calls for it (thinking "Barfly")—a song about your typical pub chat from wreck-heads. All those lyrics are conversations I’ve either had or overheard in my local bar. It’s also just a celebration of pub culture and being a lout—a hedonistic fuck. When everything seems so sterilised and perfect these days, it makes me want to become this vulgar human stain even more.
6. You’ve been self-releasing singles for a few years and building a loyal fanbase. How did signing with AnalogueTrash impact the way you approached this album and its release?
ALL PRAISE ANALOGUE TRASH! First and foremost, those guys are great. They essentially let us do what we wanted and believed in us from the start. At this stage in our ‘career,’ it’s perfect for what we needed—a reason to be motivated and organised enough to actually put this thing together. Without them, we wouldn’t have had such a cool physical product. They very much believe in vinyl, as do we, and in keeping that culture going. And, essentially, they’re nice people with a good ear (humble brag), but they are—they’re doing what they want, how they want it, and right now that includes aligning their already established back catalogue to house some misfits in Bristol.
7. Your music has received praise both online and through live performances,
even during the challenging Covid era. How did the pandemic influence the
creative process behind the album?
I mean, Covid was horrible for everyone, even if you somehow came off
financially better. It still isn’t what you’d have chosen—wrangling bog rolls
off people in Asda in blind panic was fuckin’ crap. But it did mean I had
oodles of time to write lyrics and obsess over tracks more than usual. Gigging
was tricky, yes, but they did happen. As the doors reopened and people
nervously got back into the swing of socialising, it picked up, and we had some
of the best nights out around that time. It made us realise that every show
could be our last and to make them count.
8. Bristol has a rich musical history, especially in the alternative and
punk scenes. How has your hometown influenced your sound and identity as a
band?
I love Bristol. I’m not from here, though—I’m from a town called South Shields
near Newcastle on the north east coast. When I moved here, I was an MC making
hip-hop with Sam, the guitarist, and the city was very much in its dubstep and
bass music era (probably still is). I always wanted to make rock music, but it
really wasn’t like it is now back in ‘09. IDLES and their success have a lot to
do with that, I suspect. Seems like you can’t move for a post-punk band here
now. Ironically, now that we’re in the right genre for what’s popular, I’m at a
completely different stage in my life and feel aged out of being part of any
‘scene.’ It’s always been that way. I love how creative and accepting Bristol
is, and I’m starting to suspect I’ve always enjoyed being an outsider somewhat.
That or I’m just not cool … but that can’t be it…
9. "Housecat" is one of the more intriguing tracks on the album,
combining sass with sensuality. What was the inspiration behind this song, and
how does it fit within the overall vibe of the record?
"Housecat" is a few ideas smashed together. It’s partly a criticism
of seeing my peers becoming neutered house-husbands and housewives, and partly
a proposition to fuck all that off and join me in the dirt where they used to
roam—or just join them in domestic bliss. Basically, it’s me lashing out at my
impending ‘middle-youth’. Or it’s just about a actual housecat trying his luck
with the alley cats.
10. You’re known for being an unmissable live act. How do you translate the
energy of your performances into the recording studio, and what can fans expect
from your live shows following the album’s release?
We were always told we made more sense when seen live. Not knowing what to make
of that, I think it became important to us to make the listening experience as
close to being at one of our gigs as possible. I don’t feel like we’re going
crazy live or anything, so don’t expect me to Mac Demarco it and set fire to my
pubes or anything like that. We just have fun, and that translates. We chat, we
have a laugh, and we bring the crowd into a more intimate vibe, I think. The
guys are tight musically, and that gives you license to be loose and
comfortable on stage… if that makes sense. That, or it has a sideshow freak
element to it…
11. The album covers a lot of ground both musically and thematically. What
message or experience do you hope listeners take away from Birdman Cult after
they’ve heard it in full?
I don’t think any of us had an agenda in that sense. I don’t know what I’m
trying to say thematically, at least—I’m just telling my story or giving my
take on what I know and where I’ve been. There’s small-town blues in there,
self-deprecating humour, a frustrated poet, and something a bit more
reflective. But ultimately, it’s all whatever you want it to be. Birdman Cult
is inclusive to everyone. I don’t like all these pigeonholes and labels—left
vs. right, gender, class, and race divides. For me, there’s good people and
shit people, and I base that on what’s common human decency. Hopefully, people
can take away that we’re not your typical virtue-signalling, cookie-cutter
post-punk band, and we’re not some aging gammon either. We’re stuck between two
very polarised eras right now. In the end, it’s just music, and hopefully, it’s
comforting for people that maybe feel the same way.
12. With the release of your debut album, what’s next for Birdman Cult? Are
there plans for touring, more new music, or other exciting projects in the
works?
We’ve got another album in the works, ideas for music videos and such. We’re a
lot more excited about being in the studio these days. We don’t have any
immediate plans to release anything new just yet and want to give this album
time to breathe. We’ve got some gigs in and around the southwest and plans to
take the show up north to my motherland. We’re open to shows and wanna go where
there’s a demand. So if anyone wants to see a chubby Geordie having a crap
dance and a rant in a venue near you, drop us a line!
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