Album Review: The Mynabirds Ask You To “Be Here Now”

For an album called, Be Here Now, The Mynabirds have delivered in this statement. Every track is a musical grab pulling you back into the moment. Fun, bubbly, with hints of insightfulness, The Mynabirds soar in an album dedicated and written with the idea of female empowerment.
The Mynabirds – Shouting At The Dark

Created in the two weeks leading up to the Women’s March in Washington, these weeks were eerie for the nation. With many in mourning after the election and an overall feeling of human loss at seeing someone who was caught, several times, disrespecting women be voted in as President over one, the feeling of women’s empowerment took a hard hit. It was a giant message to all women to simply handle their subjugation and degradation because those who cause it will be exalted. Naturally, the Mynabirds would create music to counter such heartless ideas because they strike for the bouncing and beaten paths of life and sound. Their music always goes for making you move through the feelings that make you feel stuck. Hence, tracks like “Be Here Now”, “Cocoon”, and and “Ashes In The Rain” feel like club tracks for those who were left in political tears. Their lyrics are unabashedly about the disappointment and fear that many felt at seeing a man who hated many be voted in to make that hate systemic. Yet, what is fascinating about their lyrics is that they are all encompassing and universal in how they define disappointment. If you did not know that the creation of this record was in poignant homage to the Women’s March and post-election heart-ache, you would have thought Laura Burhenn was gently cooing to sleep every stress you ever felt over a loser winning rather than you: the good, hard-worker. We all have had instances where we saw a mean-guy get something nice or lazy, righteous person get catered to rather than having your kindness and creativity be rewarded. Frankly, nowadays, it feels especially useless to be good and genuine, when rude and fake are glorified. Yet, it is this overarching, downed feeling that makes The Mynabirds Be Here Now such a bright pick me up.
The Mynabirds – Golden Age

For the most part, the record is smooth electronica that slips unto your feet and makes you comfortable to move. “Witch Wolf” and “Wild Hearts” roll in drums and chords as if you are charging down a mountain to say, “No, I am not going to be conquered”. Yet, there are tracks like “Golden Age” and “Shouting At The Dark” that quietly approach and reproach feelings of heartbreak. It is not easy to always have to prove you are human because it is both obvious and constant. Thus, Burhenn’s voice vapes between a rush of fiery smokiness and a clouds of pure vulnerability. Whether she is angry or sad, she is always defiant in voice, which makes the theme and lyrics of Be Here Now, exactly, what The Mynabirds wanted: empowering. For More Information On The Mynabirds And To Buy Be Here Now On August 25 Click Here.
The Mynabirds – Cocoon