An interview with Brother Bird…
Photo by Chris Bauer
For those of you who have not yet been enchanted by the righteous sound of Nashville-based singer-songwriter Caroline Glaser, aka Brother Bird, it is just a matter of time. Back in November, we caught our first glimpse of her upcoming LP with “something better,” a tune we still spin on a daily basis. Today marks the release of her next single, “state of mind,” and it will have you pre-ordering the record before the second verse. We decided to track down Brother Bird in order to find out more about her journey and whether or not she is prepared for the apocalypse. This is what she had to say about her new single: “I wrote this with Luke Sital Singh… it’s become a favorite of mine. it sounds pretty pessimistic, but I actually feel like there is a lot of hope in it. at least to me there is… like a lot of the other songs on this album, it came from a very stagnant place. something needed to give, but I didn’t want to move. it’s become a pretty good reminder that it’s okay to change. it’s okay to grow. it’s okay to be different… we’re all going to die.. might as well be yourself.”
UpToHear: Oh wow! We've featured Luke a couple of times– what a small world! We had a bunch of questions all planned out about how amazing it must have been to share the stage with Manchester Orchestra, then we did some research and discovered that you and Andy Hull have developed a friendship over the years after his mother found your cover of “Deer.” And we see that you did a duet with them on an acoustic version of “The Maze.” Does that kind of attention ever seem overwhelming?
Brother Bird: Those are my brothers. I have all the gratitude in the world for that band and everyone in it… they’ve sincerely become family to me. I don’t know that “overwhelming” would be the word I’d use, but I definitely still deal with some intermittent spurts of imposter syndrome. I’m a really huge fan, and I have been since I was a kid, so of course that plays a role. I’ve gotten a bit better at getting out of my head, though, just from working so closely with them through the years. I actually just had the opportunity to talk a little about this *very super secret* project I’ve been working on with Andy… it’s a Manchester Orchestra patreon exclusive podcast, so I won’t divulge much, but it’s been extremely collaborative. A huge honor and challenge… I’ve admired his songwriting forever, so getting to learn from him has been beyond rewarding. I leave every session a better artist. A stronger writer. I just feel really fortunate to be invited in on so many of these projects… I really really believe in everything we do together.. so, truly, any attention gained is a gift. I want everybody to hear it
UpToHear: At what point are you allowed to take a step back, look at your musical career, and call it successful?
Brother Bird: I really struggle with that. I feel like if I had a conversation with myself 5 years ago she would call 2023 Brother Bird a success… but I have a hard time knowing what that means. I’m really proud of the work I’m putting out. I’m really proud of the work I’m creating now.. I think that’s success? Commercial success is a whole other beast, though. There’s actually a lyric in ‘something better’ where I’m talking about a feeling I experience pretty frequently over big holiday gatherings. When I am around people who aren’t familiar with the music business I find myself searching for “impressive things to say”... The average person doesn’t get to see the amount of hard work that goes into all of it… they just see the cool music video.. or TV spot… or celebrity interaction. It’s dumb to feel like you have to list these (sometimes) superficial accolades to feel validated in your work, but it happens. I want to say you should be able to step back and call your music career successful the second you share something you really believe in. Easier said than done, but I’m trying to lean into that truth. Because I feel like that’s exactly what it is.
UpToHear: We just find it completely surreal that we’d never heard your music until “something better,” and now you seem to have been there all along. For example, you recently covered a Nada Surf tune with Kevin Devine. Did you two meet through your shared love for the band? How does a collaboration like that come to fruition?
Brother Bird: We actually met on the Bad Books tour in 2019. I was invited on as direct support and played keys in their set.. I’ve been a big Kevin Devine & Bad Books fan forever, so that was a really special couple of months. A huge honor. Kevin has definitely entered family status as well... especially this past year. He had me out on the “make the clocks worse” coheadling tour with Matt Pryor (of The New Amsterdams/ The Get up Kids). I got to sing a bit and play keys on both of their sets… and play a set of my own. Again, massive honor. He’s since become a for lifer friend and collaborator. He flew out to Nashville for a few days after that tour to write and work on some new songs together. We started something really special that I’m also kind of chomping at the bit to finish… In the midst of that we recorded “blonde on blonde”... I had “inside of love” recorded already, and he very graciously jumped on board the second I threw out the idea to do the split 7”.
UpToHear: We pre-ordered your album as soon as we heard “something better.” Did you use some sort of subliminal messaging techniques/ sorcery in the track in order to get people to buy your record?
Brother Bird: ooo la la. no comment :)
UpToHear: We’ve been playing your tunes for everyone we know and some have compared the sound to Jade Bird, while others insist on some Liz Phair influence. You claim that a lot of it comes from your love for The Cranberries and Mazzy Star, but can you walk us through your influences? For instance, who did you first hear that made you choose music?
Brother Bird: Incredibly flattered by both comparisons- I really admire both. I got pretty obsessed with Exile Into Guyville while working on my first LP, gardens, with Andy & Rob (Manchester Orchestra).. Rob is actually the one who recommended I go spend some time with the entire record. I think it was after I brought ‘carbon copy’ to the mix of songs. And I saw Jade Bird open up for the First Aid Kit waaaay back in maybe 2017? she blew me away. I have a ton of influences… Obviously, Manchester Orchestra is a giant one. Andy has introduced me to an outrageous amount of artists and albums that pretty heavily influence me today. John K. Samson, David Bazan, The Magnetic Fields, Built to Spill, Damien Jurado… Early early on, though, it was Norah Jones, James Taylor, Carole King, and Carly Simon. My parents had them on pretty heavy rotation growing up… My dad had this live VHS tape of James Taylor (I think at the beacon theater?)... He played it constantly. Anytime we had guests over, it would be on loop in the basement. I fell in love with that live performance and I think that’s when I really started romanticizing the idea of performing. Probably more impactful than I realize.
UpToHear: Do you have a tour lined up to support the new record (and, if so, are you coming to Chicago?)?
Brother Bird: I’m sure I’ll be there at some point in 2024.
UpToHear: Many artists do not take into account the space needed for survival gear while on the road. If our alien overlords launch an attack in the midst of your tour, will music be your sole means of protection?
Brother Bird: Love this question. I usually tour in my little honda pilot, so the space needed for supplies to overtake the alien overlords is lacking… I’d like to think I could outrun the invasion in my zippy 2011 pilot, but I don’t know. At least temporarily outrun it until we find a bunker of sorts. I do know I wouldn’t be able to do that very efficiently in a giant tour bus, SO THANK GOD.
Brother Bird’s tunes are available everywhere, but you really need to fetch yourself a copy of her LP before it releases– we have a feeling that she’s going to have trouble keeping it in stock.
-HD