Birds of Tokyo have released their first new music of 2022 with “Smith Street”, a lovely ode to the iconic Melbourne street.
“Smith Street” was written in the depths of last year’s Victorian and NSW COVID-19 lockdowns, which is why the song is filled with a spirited sense of freedom, a much-needed feeling during that time. “So take me all the way / To the edge of the night / To Smith Street where things never close,” the band cry in the rousing anthem
“Obviously, the last couple of years have been incredibly difficult, particularly for Victorians, but now it looks like it’s finally OK for them to go out and celebrate with friends again,” says the band’s frontman Ian Kenny. “This song is meant to be a soundtrack for that experience that so many people have been missing.”
And while every town has its own Smith Street, the alternative rockers specifically had Melbourne’s renowned one in mind. “We’ve had a few big nights in those Collingwood pubs over the years,” Kenny adds.
“Smith Street” comes accompanied with an official music video: directed by Kane Hibberd, it sees the band performing live, interspersed with hazy visuals of the titular Melbourne street.
Birds of Tokyo have been previewing “Smith Street” at several shows at SummerSalt Festival, playing alongside artists such as John Butler, Missy Higgins, and The Waifs. At the end of this year, they’ll join Keith Urban as special guests on his Australian arena tour (see full dates here), with more new music set to be released in the lead-up to those highly-anticipated shows.
The band’s last album, Human Design, came out in 2020. It was their second album to top the ARIA Album Charts.
Birds of Tokyo’s “Smith Street” is out now.
