((photo above and cover image below by Shelby K))
You’d be forgiven for assuming a band called Birthday Girl would write songs mostly about what they want what they really really want seeing as birthdays are all about making a wish and having it come true whether a nice hot bath or nookie or cake cake cake cake cake.
But instead, their recent single “anymore” is all about what the Birthday Girl really really doesn’t want as in “I don’t want you anymore” repeated about 13-and-a-half times culminating in a bloody altercation outside somebody’s party (they’ll all think / I killed somebody) seemingly inspired by a serious case of amour fou a/k/a “crazy love” (you’re fucking crazy / but I love you all the same) in the midst of a relationship notable for its extreme and erratic power dynamics (I know you get mad when I treat you like a person / you wanna be a dog and get your heeeeead scratched-uh) and contradictory desires (you want a Mommy and a whore / I could be both of them but / I don’t want to anymore / I don’t want to anymore) which yeah I quoted that last line as “I don’t want you anymore” above but hey it’s only fair rock critics also get to be contradictory sometimes.
On the musical side of things “anymore” is a straight up pop-punk banger (who says the Deli ain’t hip in 2022?!) which over the span of its few minutes moves from stripped-down confessional to anthemic singalong to cage-rattling rage with an infectious hook to boot and a snotty ‘tude again with emphasis on “I don’t wanna” over “I wanna” so what more do you want really?
Admittedly I don’t know a thing about these people. But what I can tell you for sure—if their Bandcamp page is to be believed—is that “Birthday Girl is a six-piece rock band living in Brooklyn comprised of singer/songwriter Eva Smittle, bass/songwriter Layla Passman, rhythm guitarist Max Bush, lead guitarist/producer Avinoam “Avi” Henig, drummer Akiva Henig, and keyboard/synth Alex DeSimine [that] spans experiments with different genres, often taking inspiration from 90s alternative rock, riotgrrrl, emo, and pop." It’s also been said that "anymore" was the first song the group wrote as a full combo and what’s more both Avi and Eva are in another groovy band called JessX that’s been described elsewhere as “a DIY project for gay punks” so there you go!
And finally, one last thing I can say with some certainty is that if you’re into “anymore” you’ll probably dig Birthday Girl’s 2020 EP Roxy too not to mention the CrazySexyCool (TLC™) music videos for two of their songs off the EP (both viewable above!) with “Hollywood Girl” strongly evoking AOL-era dial-up-modem pop-up-window slow-loading Web 1.0 PG-13 erotica a/k/a “glitchrotica” (prospective new genre name!) whereas “MAN UP!” is something like if Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette was reenacted by two members of The Cockettes so now you know what to do clearly. (Jason Lee)