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As a first taste of a new album to come, Rapture Waltz, Johnny Manchild, and the Poor Bastards have released “Oh, Songbird,” and what a cracker it is. Sitting somewhere between pop accessibility and rock groove, power-pop weight, and garage rock abrasiveness, it ticks lots of boxes for any discerning music fan.
It exhibits the same jerky frisson and frantic energy found in many of the best New Wave songs back in the day, and feels like a brilliant update of the post-punk/new pop sound at its best. And given the state of pop today, such an accessible and infectious song could act as a rallying point, a storming of pop’s barricades; no guest rappers, no dance routines, just music designed to kick arse and cut the mustard, as they say in my part of the world.
But it is more than just a fantastic song, and it is undoubtedly that, but, unlike most chart-bound songs doing the rounds today, it also has something to say. Johnny Manchild uses the song as a channeling, an exorcism, a way of working through the legacy of those lonely days of the lockdown era, the rise of more right-leaning urges and energies into an already entrenched society, and the trauma of personal loss. But despite the dark days that inspired the song, “Oh, Songbird” has a simple yet powerful message. Things can, and indeed do, get better! Hang in there.
