From the outside, Jeff Hulett might seem like a late-blooming guitarist and songwriter. But if you ask any of his fellow musicians, they’ll tell you he was writing songs and playing music long before he put pen to paper or strummed a chord. For many years, you could find him behind the drums for such bands as Me and Leah, Restless Townies and (most notably) Snowglobe. But the past few years have found Hulett releasing his own material, mostly for the small Seattle label Small Batch Records.

In summer ’21, he grabbed some fellow collaborators (Jacob Church, Jonathan Schallert, Adam Poor and Lehman Sammons) and headed to the famed Sun Studios to record a few numbers. Those songs are what became Sun Recordings, releasing tomorrow.

On first listen, “This Bird” might sound like a fun toe-tapping little pop song. But a dive into the lyrics will show a darker scene unfolding.

“ ‘This Bird’ is a story song, a dream if you will. It’s about a plane crash and how strangers become friends after miraculously surviving said plane crash,” Hulett told the Big Takeover. “It speaks to the disconnection we all feel because of technology and reinforces the importance of authentic connection.”

Here is a sampling of lyrics from the track:

The cabin is losing pressure
Put on your mask before you help
The tray tables, they don’t matter
This bird is going down

Thankfully, the chorus rewards the listener by telling us that they will be “laughing” and “dancing like kids” when they realized they’d survived.

We don’t know what’s next for this bird, but we’ll surely be listening.

Check out “This Bird” here:

For more on Hulett, go here:

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