New Music: SHEEBABA – birds

SHEEBABA follow the NDW style and shape of last month’s option C within the frenetic despair of birds.

The Luxembourg-based band, who operate under the pseudonyms Eliott Eccho and Prof.C, dissect grief via early post-punk and Neue Deutsche Welle on this track from their haut album. If Joy Division or Bauhaus had spent their early days haunting the colour-bleached decay of 80s Berlin, the resulting music might have been tracks like birds.

It is driven hard and fast, controlled at first, with the vocals gradually fraying in time with the lyrics’ quest to make sense of a process that is not easy to comprehend at the best of times. Mind you, it’s far from bleak or impenetrable – the duo let their emotions have a greater role as birds comes to an uncertain end. There’s understanding, but no neat resolution, and given the track’s origin, that is quite fitting.

“birds is about grief and the strange hope that lives inside it; written after the loss of a friend and fellow artist,” disclosed the duo. “I will see you in a white cube. A song that moves through denial, disintegration, and something that isn’t quite acceptance but is close enough to keep going.”

You can stream haut, which came out on the 6th of November, on Spotify and SoundCloud, Apple Music. SHEEBABA are set to perform at Eurosonic Noorderslag in January ’27 – for details of that and the latest music and gig updates from the duo, head to Instagram and Facebook.

The making of haut was facilitated by support from SACEM Luxembourg and Ministère de la Culture LU.

Header photo by Lina Caspary