With an interesting name with a sinister origin, and a new track that’s haunting, heavy, and deeply personal, Birdman Cult’s new track is something. But whether it hits the mark set by previous singles is up for debate.
The name Birdman Cult, comes from a group that were based on Easter Island, worshipping to their own religion before being converted and ‘civilised’ by Christian missionaries. This feeling of marching to the beat of your own drum, and not falling into line is something that’s permeated Birdman Cult’s identity as a band, and their musical style. This latest song just expands that narrative of not belonging even further, giving some reason as to why that feeling purveys.
Let Me Out, is the latest single from the band, and it carries a trademark heavy guitar with a lot of distortion and intense noise. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg as the song expands into a more expansive and dark song.
Kicking off with this guitar and some intense drums with less of a verse, and more of a pre-chorus. This then transitions into the bulk of the song that focuses much more on the main idea than telling a story, essentially making it one continuous piece with no breaks or transitions. For a pretty standard 3-minutes, it keeps it nice and clean without over indulging and beating you over the head with it’s message.
The general take away from the song is that it’s about wanting to get away. Described by the band as wanting to get away from a small town lifestyle and fly the nest to something bigger, a longing that a lot of people can no doubt relate to, especially those from said small towns.
Getting back to the musical side, there’s the aforementioned intense guitar, backed up by some strong beats from the drums. But for the most part it sticks to that, adding in some percussion here and there. The meat of the song comes from the vocals and backing vocals.
The main vocals give the basic idea and tell the story as it goes along, giving a nice and calming feel, contrasted by the backing vocals as the screaming of “let me out” becomes continually more intense towards the climax. It’s not quite packing the punch I think they were going for, but it doesn’t need to, it’s an anthem, and is made to evoke a feeling and not inspire awe with big bombast.
It’s pretty barebones when it comes down to flair and packing that crucial oomph, but still comes off as an admirable effort and a solid song. The sad part is that it seems to have potential but just falls flat when push comes to shove. Let Me Out does feel more like filler, and less like killer on those subsequent listens sadly.