LA-based pop-punk band, Kills Birds is led by Windsor, ON-raised Nina Ljeti. The band has unveiled their new single, “Rabbit” from their forthcoming album, Married, due out via Royal Mountain Records and KRO Records on November 12, 2021.
Recorded at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 by invitation of the man himself, it is a storming and immediate declaration of intent from the band, a brutal and intense account of an abusive relationship struggling with power dynamics, oscillating between quiet and loud dynamics – both beautiful and aggressive, devastating and cathartic.
On the track, vocalist Nina Ljeti explains,
“Lyrically, “Rabbit” is about the experience of being in an abusive relationship with a powerful person. To be with someone who was praised by the public, but hurt you (and others) in private really eviscerates your self worth. There’s nowhere to turn for help. Like many people who share this experience, this particular relationship defined the majority of my young adulthood, and I’m still dealing with the emotional consequences of it.“
Guitarist Jacob Loeb continues,
““Rabbit” was the first song written for the new album. Despite being one of the harder hitting songs on the record, it was originally written on an acoustic guitar at Nina’s house. The goal was for the chorus to have an almost disorienting quiet/loud dynamic which really came to life when we plugged in and all practiced it for the first time. We tried to make the chorus start so quietly that the listener feels like something went wrong with their speaker and has to kind of lean in to hear Nina singing before the repetition of “how could I?” abruptly and violently re-enters, startling them and making the emotion visceral.“
On the video itself, Ljeti, who is a filmmaker herself, having recently made a music video for Crowded House featuring Mac DeMarco, says,
“it’s interesting to be on the other side of the camera for “Rabbit”, especially since the concept of the video involves an unseen crew doing a rehearsal take of our performance. though i had no problem relinquishing control as a performer for Susie (the director) it’s not something i’m really used to anymore. so it’s an exciting challenge.“
The band adds,
“For “Rabbit”, we wanted to depart from the lo-fi aesthetic of our first record and come back with something that was super vivid, bold and direct. The idea was to capture the raw energy of our live performance, particularly from Nina, in the sterile and stilted setting of a film set, with the camera itself becoming this kind of ominous force that manipulates and distorts what it captures.“
Check out the video for “Rabbit” below, and stay up to date with the band via their socials.