Spring has officially approached us, as well as the craving for summer. TV Girl’s song “Birds Don’t Sing” is a melancholy, yet sunny and fun indie tune that will keep your head bumping throughout the rest of spring semester. “Birds Don’t Sing” appears on the band’s 2014 album “French Exit.” The album is a true tribute to the indie genre. It’s composed of smooth lo-fi, electronic and experimental elements – blending together to create a truly hypnotic compilation of songs. Tracks such as “Lovers Rock” and “Daughter of a Cop” are excellent examples of what the album is made of. However, “Birds Don’t Sing” in particular holds that special spring into summer feel.
TV Girl is notorious for using samples from other works in their songs, giving their creations an out of the ordinary flavor. In this song, the band makes use of “Seven Minutes in Heaven,” a 1958 song by The Poni-Tales. This piece is an authentic oldie; they take the opening horn melody from this classic and transform it into a dreamy vocal sample, almost stringy sounding sample. It’s almost reminiscent of birds singing, indulging in the play on words within the lyrics “Birds don’t sing, they just fall from the sky / Girls don’t call, and they never tell you why.” This also adds to that spring feel as birds tend to be associated with the time period.
Continuing, the drums in this song are also sampled. They were creatively refurbished and sampled from the tune “Keep on Doin’ It” by The New Birth, 1973. The tune also includes a multitude of spoken vocal samples, most likely utilized from older pieces of media, which tends to be the case with TV Girl. Overlaying on the song, these spoken bits say, “Over and over can you feel it,” “well, um, sure!” “it all sounds a little sick to me” and “you’d do that to a woman?” They emulate what would appear to be a conversation.
The lyrical component is intimate, exploring the idea of a relationship ending. You wouldn’t know the story is gloomy, as the song remains light-hearted. This changed the trajectory of standard indie break-up songs. The genre normally has a depressing, heart-wrenching reputation. However, “Birds Don’t Sing” opens doors to a unique take on what tends to be gutting music. It makes it entertaining and cheerful sounding. Lyrics such as “She said, ‘How can you joke at a time like this?’ / I know why, because this is what you wanted all along now, isn’t it? / I think all you ever really wanted was a reason to complain / That never stopped you before, don’t let it get in your way” take center stage in the first verse.
It seems to replicate an argument, really holding up to the theme of an ending relationship. These petty words lay over a charming beat that keeps you moving. What is usually melodramatic becomes something catchy and intoxicatingly vibey.
“Birds Don’t Sing” is perfect for any indie lover, or anyone who adores a catchy song that captures that spring-summer feeling.
