Brother Bird Photo credit: Chris Bauer
Brother Bird, the project of Nashville singer-songwriter Caroline Glaser, today has announced her new album The Lodge In Miller County, due out September 25th via Easy Does It Records. The announcement arrives alongside new single “Pariah,” which is accompanied by a video directed by Stephen P.
She recently wrapped up a tour opening for Andy Hull (Manchester Orchestra), which included dates at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music (5/29 and 5/30), NYC’s LePoisson Rouge (6/7), and more.
The new album was co-produced by Glaser, Andy Hull, Jamie Martens, and Owen Lewis. “Pariah” follows previous single “Chameleon.”
Glaser’s songwriting lives in tight, intimate spaces, full of the embarrassments and small indignities that come with being human. An early brush with televised stardom shaped her ambitions in music. It made her certain she didn’t want to be a product, and led her to the realization that actually making music is what she cares about. She gave herself the role of captain of the ship, working closely with friends and mentors Andy Hull and Robert McDowell (Manchester Orchestra) on her first LP, Gardens, before co-producing and writing her 2024 Easy Does It Records debut, Another Year, with producer Owen Lewis.
You describe ‘Pariah’ as moving from the pain of feeling excluded to the confidence of rejecting the need for acceptance. Was there a specific moment in your life that inspired that emotional shift, or did it emerge gradually while writing the song?
CAROLINE GLASER: Yeah, there were several catalyst moments throughout my 20s.. All of them accumulated and led to a pretty massive shift. Both internal and external. I left my marriage and a church that I was heavily involved in for the majority of my adult life. I didn’t grow up in a faith-based community, so this was really my only experience with organized religion. It’s layered… of course… like anything else, but I’m thankful I was able to see certain things within that community…. ask certain questions… and ultimately have the courage to start over in search of something real. The desire for acceptance is so innate… ‘Pariah’ is more of a declaration to trust yourself. And your body. When something feels off, something is probably off.
The song explores people-pleasing and conformity, but ultimately celebrates individuality. How did you balance vulnerability and defiance in both the lyrics and the musical arrangement to reflect that journey?
CAROLINE GLASER: This song has morphed and molded in a million different ways, but it’s always been some variation of muddy [or] melancholy guitars combined with deconstructed drum machines. The words are heavy. I really love having this energetic almost playful platter to present them on.
You call “Pariah” a “triumphant little anthem for the inner-alien.” What do you hope listeners who currently feel like outsiders or misfits take away from the song after hearing it?
CAROLINE GLASER: That it finds its way to the right folks and offers up a little light beam. Anyone who’s familiar with that feeling knows how truly isolating it can be… I hope the acknowledgment of not being alone in that can act as a source of comfort for whoever needs it.
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