Birdman Cult Return With New Single “Ferryman”

Deliciously psychedelic peddlers of West Country post-punk, Bristol’s Birdman Cult are back with their first taste of material since they first reared their ugly heads on their 2019 debut, Snakes. The origins of the band’s name are complex and mixed. On the one hand, they take their name from The Birdman Cult, an ancient religious sect who inhabited Easter Island who were suppressed and eventually halted by Christian missionaries in the 1860’s. A second influence is the metaphor of the Tangat Manu or Birdman, where representatives of native clans would select a prospective champion to retrieve a seasonal egg from a remote island. The winner would retrieve the much coveted prize, grow their hair and nails, be lavished with the season’s harvest and never have to want for anything, until the next Tangat Manu was victorious.

Whichever one you prefer, both are suitably psychedelic, unsurprising given the both the band’s influences, and their aesthetic. Taking cues from the likes of Thee Oh Sees, Fontaines DC, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Viagra Boys, the band’s latest single, Ferryman, is three and half minutes of blistering rhythm guitar, woozy lead and heady, hypnotic vocals. Described by frontman Joe as being “a big doom laden rock anthem, an existential reflection brought on by living through a global pandemic and pending WW3”, there’s a certain degree of nihilism at play, but it seems to be working well for them.

Ferryman can be streamed here