The Mynabirds Use MyIdol to Create Lyric Video for “Semantics” + in DC w/ Pixies 5/31

After touring the world as a member of the Postal Service in 2013, Laura Burhenn, aka The Mynabirds, took a year to get lost. She drove across the US twice, toured South Africa solo, made her first appearance in London (also solo), and trekked all over Europe with William Faulkner’s words ringing in her ears: “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” Finally she found herself in Los Angeles with a suitcase of songs to fill a whole new album. Lovers Know, the third full-length, will be released onAugust 7 via Saddle Creek.
 
This week Laura offers up a special treat: a lyric video for the album’s first single, “Semantics”, created with the MyIdol app combined with some gorgeous photos by Bliss Braoudakis. The app features turned out to be a perfect foil for the song. As Nylon noted in their premiere of the video: "each time the hook drops, some infectiously random scenes ensue, reminding us why we fell in love with the confusing-yet-addictive Chinese app in the first place (because who doesn’t want to see a cartoon version of herself holding up a roll of toilet paper that turns into an angel?)."
 
Another moment of hilarity came when it was time to translate the lyrics. "I made the entire video using MyIdol and was pretty impressed with myself,” Burhenn explains. “But then, when it was finished, I realized I had no idea what any of the Chinese subtitles said! So I got some help from an artist friend of mine, Ying Zhu, who is a native Chinese speaker. She translated everything for me, and it was pretty incredible how much the Chinese subtitles lined up with the actual song lyrics! Love songs definitely have a universal language, no matter how they’re sliced and diced. The lyrics are all posted with the video on YouTube, so definitely read them all there."
 
Tour Dates
May 31 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC w/ Pixies
August 20 at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA
 
Led by Laura Burhenn and produced by Bradley Hanan Carter of Black English, Lovers Knowforges into previously unexplored territory. Exploring influences of 80s, 90s, and futuristic soundscapes, the record recalls Kate Bush, Sinead O’Connor, Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine.  The result is arguably one of Burhenn’s most personal and confessional works to date, yet also her most accessible, delving deep into universal themes of love, loss, and seeking connection.
 
“Love – or the lack of it – is the thing we all have in common,” she notes. “It can destroy us. It can break us open and let the light in. And it’s also the thing that can make us sing.”