Breaking the boundaries of their art-rock genre, Shaven Primates has released their long-awaited album Birds Aren’t Real. The inspiration came from the band’s self-named concept “alt-thought,” exploring alternative thoughts and encouraging the listener to question everything they thought they might have known.
The opening track has a melodic bass with a heavy electric guitar. The rough sound matches with the lead singer’s raspy voice. The heavy symbol crashes add to the band’s inspiration of post punk sound. Modernizing it with their use of synths throughout. The topic of the song tackles social media and the rise of fascism on the platforms. One of the lyrics being “Puts coffee cup on his desktop / And a cheap camera to his face / Hit the live switch he’s ready,” showing the greed of people have to profit off of each other.
“A Decision” is less heavy in sound, but a lot heavier in topic. The song talks about someone close to the band that had lost their life to suicide. The song has a larger-than-life production, playing more with orchestral and a more unique synth. The lyrics in this song are well thought and say a lot without telling the listener exactly what is happening. The line that stands out the most is, “He gifts us all with those final trinkets invaluable.” It’s a small sign and happening so early in the song shows that the signs were there. It is an important conversation and the person singing asks “was our love not enough,” showing the desperation families and loved ones feel after something like this happens.
The closing track and name of the record is “Birds Aren’t Real.” The concept of birds not being real started as a satirical conspiracy and Shaven Primates thought it would be an interesting idea to sing a song from someone who believes it. It is a smart and a clever way to put a spin on the crazy conspiracy theory. The standout lyric of the song “As dawn breaks, he hears mechanical screeches / Of the so-called song of those wretched feathered creatures.” It is a great way to immediately introduce the listener to this character and their thought process.
Overall, the collection of songs is thoughtful, inspired, and catchy. The band put real emotion and care when crafting the lyrics and production. Each song was memorable in its own way and the creativity Shaven Primates has when writing from different perspectives is outstanding.
Written by Katie Power
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