Project Blackbird have a way of making music that sounds like it could have been around for years, like an old friend that you have a relaxed and warm relationship with. They distil elements of pop, jazz, soul and reggae into a gentle and nourishing one-pot meal.
‘Every House Gets Dark When the Sun Goes Down’ is the second single from the band’s forthcoming album True Names released later this year. It’s an assured piece of songwriting. There’s the precision of the guitar playing as it cluck-cluck-clucks away like a happy chicken, and the high-low doubling up of bass and electric piano as they dance around the root notes and the perfect syncopation of the drums. The muted trumpet is glorious as it adds a sympathetic phrase to the tune in the chorus and then delivers a wonderfully plaintive solo towards the end of the song. Everything buoys up the mellow joy of the vocals which float over the song and feel like a conversation with a confident. I also loved the hold-your-breath moment close to the beginning of the song.
Project Blackbird’s vocalist Ming Nagel told Joyzine “It might be one of our poppiest songs on the new album, but the lyrics are written from a fairly dark place of disconnection, and are set within the context of increasingly open conversations about men’s mental health – particularly with regard to self-esteem and expressing feelings. To me, the narrator is just a bit lost; this is both an internal monologue and external cry for support and connection, as if he’s calling a helpline. It’s this turmoil of trying to grapple with and articulate a sense of emotional darkness but also being trapped in a kind of emotional adolescence and wanting to just shut down.”
There is always a clarity to Project Blackbird’s music, from the perfectly layered instrumentation to the crisp production. ‘Every House Gets Dark When the Sun Goes Down’ is both nostalgic and modern and has a lot of qualities in common with some of the 1970’s best crafted pop songs. They never indulge in moon-June-spoon lyrics, always weaving storytelling allusions to create the musical equivalent of a terrarium, a whole world contained in a song.
Project Blackbird are ALAN ROBERTS – electric guitar / EDDIE DUBLIN – drums / JAMIE VARLEY – bass guitar / JON READ – keyboards, trumpet / MING NAGEL – vocals
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Lyrics:
he said, “my thoughts are a jigsaw
got to start at the edges and work your way in
I can’t explain – I’ve forgotten the picture
there’s nothing but the surface of a table beneath
and every time I try – pieces go flying
I tip things over just to see if they’ll break
it’s been a raw day – everything’s bleeding
could you stay a little longer on the line with me?
I know that you can’t tell me your story
and you won’t tell me that I am wrong
but that’s okay
that’s okay
I’m like a twister trapped in a cradle
I’m just an illness nobody sees
I’m tired of this world that we live in
and I want someone to listen to the people I’ve been
was a time I was someone who fixed things
but fortune flicked a switch and now the power is gone
tell me – do you ever feel lonely?
does every house get dark when the sun goes down?
I know that you can’t tell me your story
and you won’t tell me that I’m enough
but that’s okay
that’s okay
I’m like a twister trapped in a cradle
I’m just an illness nobody sees
I’m tired of this world that we live in
and I want someone to listen to the people I’ve been
I’m like a twister trapped in a cradle
I’m just an illness nobody sees
I’m so tired of this world that we live in
and I want someone to listen to the people I’ve been
A blackbird fact: up until the 17th century the blackbird was more commonly known as ouzel, ousel or wosel, derived from the German ‘amsel’.
Review by Paul F Cook
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