Major Spark Drops New Single/.Video

To say that the last 30 days have been an exceptionally good month for indie musicians and their fans just might not be doing it justice. With new releases coming from across the underground spectrum, it can be difficult to keep up with the true cream of the crop – but among those I’ve personally reviewed lately, Major Spark shines above the rest in his insular Bostonian scene.

Major Spark’s new song, “Birds Aren’t Real,” exhibits much of the same melodic moxie that he capitalized on so epically in previously released works, but with a slightly more powerful lyrical twist. In this single, and its music video, the burgeoning singer and songwriter show us more compositional dexterity than he did in the whole of his current discography without overstepping his creative bounds.

Straddling multiple grooves with surgical precision, the wild animal that we were first introduced to only two years ago is instrumentally tamed here, but none of his aggression is absent from his verses. The arrangement is solid, and the beats are blinding, but more than anything else, the man holding the mic in “Birds Aren’t Real” sounds more on-point than ever. 

The guitars aren’t as loud in the master mix as I would have preferred, but I can understand the concept behind their limited presence just the same. By curtailing the beefiness of the riff, particularly when we’re getting into the guts of the chorus here, it’s easier for us to pick up on the intricacies within the relationship between the strings and our singer (and I’ve got to say, there are plenty to be appreciated).

The bassline is supremely physical, though not quite overindulgent, and it works in tandem with the drums to make every gargantuan groove even more evocative. I think “Birds Aren’t Real” has the potential to be the most-requested live jam that Major Spark takes with them onto the stage this summer, and in the right setting, it could be extended well beyond the several minutes it lasts in this recording. It’s got the flexibility to be experimented with further in the proper venue, and hopefully, I’ll have the chance to experience it for myself in person before the year is out. 

There are a lot of really compelling alternative singles and videos debuting on both sides of the dial this month, but “Birds Aren’t Real” is one of the more unique I’ve come across so far. Trend-savvy surrealism is completely missing from the music here, and while some critics might see this as a direct slap in the face of Major Spark’s rivals, I’m not sure it was meant to be as assaultive towards his mainstream contemporaries as it was the establishment overall.

There’s no walking away from this song without feeling a little repelled by the status quo as it applies to modern life in and outside of the western world, but depending on who’s listening, I think there’s a lot to be drawn from this track’s narrative. Simply put, check it out for yourself this February. 

Mindy McCall