FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.


Flying west to a cooler climate
The Mutton Birds find a niche in Britain for their charm despite their difference
By Aubrey McInnis

Another Roadside Attraction
Saturday, July 25

"It's quite a conformist place, England at the moment," admits Don McGlashan, lead vocalist of The Mutton Birds. "There's more a sense of people writing and playing to suit themselves in Canada and the US. The guitar bands that are around tend to be really meticulous in their references so that they're very retro. We don't really fit into that. It is a strange time to be living here."

For all the fans of the phenomenon monopolizing radio (it's only good if you can dance to it), there are just as many people covering their ears. The Mutton Birds are one of the few bands who understand that not everyone wants to spend half their life in a club jumping up and down and shouting, "Woohoo" like Damon Albarn. Heck, some people may even be immune to the wiles of the platformed, overplayed Spice Girls. Instead of creating music that trivializes experience and setting it to an electronic drumbeat, The Mutton Birds are content with a "hacked down" style.

"You feel more human after you listen to them," Don says about their songs on the phone from his North London home. "Something is connected with you. Somebody is basically coming out of the speakers in your stereo system saying, 'I feel sad, strong, hopeless, lost, loved, or in love.' When you can look up from the ironing or whatever is that you are doing and go, 'Yeah, I felt that,' that's what (songs) are for."

The Mutton Birds' latest album, Envy of Angels, evokes all kinds of emotions. The quartet is originally from New Zealand, but has recently relocated to the United Kingdom to record the album and find success. The recording is like a snapshot that captures the group during a time of isolation, emotional stress and in pursuit of stability in a music career.

"It's not a homesick record," insists Don of the 14-track album. "Some people have said that it seems like a homesick record, but I think that it's got too many moments of redemption and hope to be a nostalgic, sentimental kind of thing about home. A lot of our songs and the style - because of where New Zealand is - is very much where we come from. Moving away from home is a big deal. A lot of the songs are about home and the attitudes to it.

"People were feeling isolated so that emotion flowed into the songs we were working on."

The geographic and cultural isolation is an ironic element in the album. Notions of being disconnected are communicated with warm, sweeping and fluid notes. Envy of Angels is an hour-long subterfuge for those disenchanted with music trends today and offers its own gentle and pure form. Sometimes acoustic, sometimes plugged in and never contrived, the effect of The Mutton Birds is one of delicacy.

"We do big pop songs... we do songs which are more filmic, objective, dark. We've got a range of things we're trying to get across. Some songs you write because you understand something and you really want to communicate that understanding. They're clean and simple. And there are a lot of other songs that you write because you don't understand something. You hope by writing the song you will come to an understanding. Sometimes you never do and those kinds of songs have a mystery that, at our best, we're talking about stuff that's hard to put into words. We're as good at that as any band."

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