The Mynabirds Announce New Album, Head to SXSW

Band to Preview New Music @ SXSW

“…Burhenn is as heartbreaking and tuneful as her finest inspirations while investing her songs with a calm fatalism that sets her apart.” –Pitchfork

The Mynabirds, recently signed to Girlie Action’s artist management division, will be releasing their highly anticipated third album on Saddle Creek this summer.

The new Mynabirds album, Lovers Know, is new territory for singer/writer Laura Burhenn. Forging 80s, 90s and futuristic soundscapes, the album gives a nod to Sinead O’Connor, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and even 90s hip hop and R&B, Burhenn’s brooding, unmistakable voice leading the way. A full year in the making, she drove across the US twice and toured South Africa solo while writing, then spent 8 months in studios in Los Angeles, Nashville, Joshua Tree and Auckland, New Zealand, with producer Bradley Hanan Carter perfecting the songs and sound. It’s a collection of love songs — 12 in all — the most visceral record she’s made to date, guitars searing and drums thumping like anxious hearts.

“It’s a break up record, for sure,” Laura says, noting that she went to a deep, dark place to write the songs. “It was taking such a toll on me, I felt at times like it was going to be the last thing I’d ever write. But I was really inspired by something William Faulkner said: ‘You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose site of the shore.’ So every time I thought I might sink to the bottom, I just kept going. And I think the struggle helped me find some really gorgeous new places in the end.”

Laura will be performing intimate solo sets of both new and old Mynabirds songs at SXSW next week, with a full touring schedule to be announced around the album’s release.

The Mynabirds (solo) @ SXSW