It doesn't make sense for me to say it, but this music reminds me of a moment I never actually had before. Listening to Birds Aren't Real, the five-song concept by the Shaven Monkeys gives me the feeling that I did something I had never done before. It took me 30 years into the past and made me feel I was listening to Modern Life is Rubbish by Blur.
I'm not from England, and I've never much connected with Blur's Britpop stylings before, yet, something about the Shaven Primates and the way they write their songs, describe them, and offer them up took me right back to 1993. After enjoying the Shaven Primates, I went back to check it out and find out what kind of similarities I may have missed. While the records manage to share some interesting tidbits, even Blur couldn't do what the Shaven Primates can in 2023.
This is "alt thought": a spin on the mesh of madness spread across the world in war, propaganda, lies, slander, hate, denial, and conspiracy.
Before diving into Birds Aren't Real, one of the most crucial things to do is take a look at the playlist the Shaven Primates have included. It can be difficult to understand what they're writing about, but this EPK is still one of the most well-thought-out approaches to a music release I've ever seen. Click here to see for yourself. The even shorter descriptions of each song are as follows:
"Fade Away" - "Inspired by the Louis Theroux interviews with YouTubers Nick Fuentes and Baked Alaska, this song is about the rise of fascism in social media.
"A Decision" - "Recently, someone close took their own life in a decided fashion, with planning and some insinuation along the way..."
"Silicon Implants" - "...The line "Nazis Bad" is intended to reflect on the washing down of terminology in online arguments, alongside the excuse used to justify the Ukraine war."
"Unmasked" - Two stories about a properly diagnosed autistic child and one who is not well diagnosed.
"Birds Aren't Real" - "Well, isn't it obvious? Birds are clearly a ploy created by the government, made entirely of cybernetic organisms set out to monitor our every movement!"
Beyond longer descriptions of the songs, there are also numerous other pictures, praise from other music magazines, and stories about what the band has been up to over the last few years. They built a studio to record their last record and managed to continue its building through this project as well. That makes their EPK a small but masterful piece of literature that greatly encapsulates the UK band and everything they stand for.
The concept of Birds Aren't Real showcases the amount of time that went into the writing and production of this album. Shaven Primates wants us to understand "alt thought." They've been willing to devote a great deal of their lives to its discovery beyond the punk, gothic rock, and dark wave. So take a dive into the style they have made available on this record. Comb through their EPK. Check out the lyrics of each song. Use what the Shaven Primates made available to us and see how much it helps when diving into your own deeper existence.