By Christian Cullen, Staff Writer
What is the modern day protest song? What is the anthem of our generation as we attempt to throw off our shackles before climate change melts them off? Well, good for you that Drumming Bird released their new EP, “Mama, I Already Know.”
Drumming Bird, the stage name of Austin Sawyer, has long been releasing music that captures the emotions and feelings of our generation. Seriously, go listen to “American Spirits” if you haven’t. When it was released, the EP brought to life Sawyer’s theme of the death of the American Dream and a complicated relationship with religion. Drumming Bird’s politics looks at American society, especially the ideas of American exceptionalism, with a scoff and a scowl.
Austin Sawyer, whose stage name is Drumming Bird, is originally from Chattanooga Tennessee.
We are first given the title song of the EP. “Mama, I Already Know” comes out throwing emotional fastballs. Sawyer begins with his beginning, talking about the love he felt in the hospital room. The song, which at the start seems to express one’s love for their mother, morphs into grappling with a complicated relationship.
As I mentioned earlier, a consistent theme in Sawyer’s music is a complicated relationship with religion, having been raised Christian but no longer identifying that way. Sawyer asks his mother, “Would you love me with no God above me?” but answers himself: “Mama, I already know.”
Sawyer ends the song with an existential thought about his mother’s funeral. Sawyer asks what awaits us in the afterlife, but for now, they are, “never apart cause you carved out my heart.”
Sawyer plays well with words, on his song titled “Jackpot, NV,” which notes the irony of Las Vegas being the gambling capital of the United States. The song as a whole seems to be a critique of the fast-paced elements of American culture and the many vices we grapple with. The song has a simple guitar riff underneath it, giving it a foundational basis that allows Sawyer’s soft vocals to rest upon.
Many of us can relate to the next song, “Election Day in a Red State.” The lumbering and slow start to the song strikes a melancholy tone, expressed quickly by Sawyer quipping, “I think the system’s broken but my sticker says ‘I voted’… I’m the voice of generational contempt.” This is maybe the most relatable of the songs on this album, noting and embracing the despair and hopelessness that the current American political climate and machine can engineer in us.
“Born in Time” is far and away the best song on the EP and I want to deep dive into it. The fastest-paced of all the songs, I would say this is the protest anthem we have been looking for. I could quote the whole song. The refrain is what hits the most: “I was born in the USA, but I was not born in time.”
The song is a continual critique. And most importantly, it’s mixed in a way that allows the vocals to stand out. The only long solo of the song is essentially the same as the backing track, including lines such as, “This land is yours, this land is mine, all we have is sacred,” and “maybe tonight, we admit that something’s wrong… what’s on your mind when you realize that it’s gone.” This song is the only one on the album that approaches “American Spirits’” level of disdain for the United States and her history, and yet there are moments of solidarity at the end of the song. We may not have been born in time for the glory days of America, but hopefully we’re born in time to save it.
I can tell you two things: if you enjoy radical politics, you’ll be bopping your head to some of the songs on this album. And if you are navigating relationships where you have left the faith others still ascribe to, there are like 10-20 lines that will hit you like a truck, especially in “Roadkill Poetry.” Give Drumming Bird a chance, and you’ll find a new indie artist to brag to your friends about. And hey, maybe you’ll have a political awakening yourself.