Birds of Tokyo have taken an unofficial stance against the government after releasing long awaited album ‘Brace’, aiming their frustration at the Australian government.
Using music as a medium to be the voice of their peers on their fifth studio album, the record is pointing fingers on how the country is being run, the introduction of lockout laws in Sydney, and the fast paced progression of neoliberalism within our fair country.
Unlike their ARIA-winning album March Fires, BRACE has taken a different approach with their sound, endeavouring to appropriately reflect the above inspirations. Birds demand attention with their crunchy guitar riffs, heavy drums and more biting lyrics – all of which are detailed by the band themselves below.
You can listen along to the new record below, and hear it in its full live glory when the band head out on a national tour on November 17, dates below.
Harlequins
The harlequin is the ever grinning distraction in a society of tricksters and false promises. Don’t get played fool! This song in the beginning was a dark brooding club piece. We wanted it to be far heavier than the original idea so we cut away all fat to expose more muscle.
Brace
Shedding old skin isn’t always easy but fuck it feels good. It’s high time we hold those in charge accountable for their careless and manipulative ways. It’s time we hold ourselves accountable for our part in the mess. Start asking why. Stop saying yes. Give birth to the new and lay waste to the old. Destroy it all!
Empire
Enough is enough. It’s all so close to tipping point. Greed and consumerism have created an ugly beast; a reckless king. Off with his head we say and make way for new blood. You had your time and now it’s ours. This was the toughest song by far to get right for the record. We went through many different feels and styles till we landed the right one. It almost didn’t make the record.
Gods
Is your ego your friend? We all have one sitting in the background telling us what we need to hear from time to time but it can flare wildly out of control. Ego and power don’t mix well. The result is a self inflated God like status where things eventually get out of hand and reality has no bearing. Scary shit!
Discoloured
Who’s watching who in this twisted world? It sometimes feels like we’re looking at the world through a dirty lens. It doesn’t quite look or feel right. From the beginning we had the idea to get a female voice on this track. Some kind of character almost. Hayley’s work here really bent the song in the right way
Pilot
Facing the end of all things you find yourself asking absurd and obscured questions. Is it the end or the beginning? This song came together while we were in the studio. We took the best parts from another song we had written and wrote the rest on the fly. It’s affectionate working title was “trump hands”
Crown
As people we so easily give away our free will. We follow the pack. We lose our sense of self. We believe in things we’ve never seen and it can cost us everything. Is this any way to live?
Above / Below
Placing trust in the wrong people has disastrous consequences. We eventually end up in the ditch when we let someone else drive. At some point we have to have ownership over our mistakes. It can hurt like hell but it’s always a valuable lesson.
Catastrophe
Settle in for your six o’clock fill of fear and sensationalism. It’s a sick reflection of the world around us. We tune out so easily and barely register anything on the empathy meter. How did we let things get this bad? How can we accept this?
Mercy Arms
The struggle between life and death. So sick and broken on the cusp of giving up there comes a voice, a vision a feeling of something offering a way out. Do you take the offer? Do you leave everything and everyone you love? I only realized this after completing the song but it strongly relates to my brother who was almost killed in a car accident.
BIRDS OF TOKYO – BRACE TOUR
Special guests Strangers & Introvert
Thursday Nov 17 | Metro City, Perth (Strangers & Pat Chow)
Friday Nov 18 | Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
Friday Nov 25 | The Tivoli, Brisbane
Saturday Nov 26 | The Croxton, Melbourne
Friday Dec 16 | Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Saturday Dec 17 | Waves, Wollongong
