Ahead of her new album, Montreal multi-hyphenate artist Ruby McKinnon aka Flower Face shares the final single release in the form of the poetic, somber ballad “October Birds.” Showing her most intimate side, the song opens with arpeggiating acoustics and breathtaking harmonies. McKinnon’s melancholic prose sounds almost as if she is reading directly from her diary. Listen to “October Birds” on all digital retailers (.
flowerface.ffm.to/octoberbirds
“This song is about the kind of self-revelation that leaves you mourning for the person you believed you were before,” explains McKinnon. “Any kind of growth is hard: it hurts to shed your skin. The layer underneath is tender. The lyrics get pretty blunt — more so than the others. I had somebody tell me once that the reason they loved my lyrics is because I have a way of 'juxtaposing the poetic with the heartbreakingly mundane.' I think that’s one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. I sort of unintentionally did that in this song because I was fed up when I wrote it: fed up with myself, with the way that I am and the fact that I couldn’t change that. At the time, I was in a relationship with somebody who was just unconditionally kind and understanding and forgiving. It brought my volatility into stark relief. Sometimes I feel like it’s easier for me to be in an unstable and fraught relationship because then I’m not forced to confront my own internal evil. Self-revelation is a painful (and very important) thing."
“October Birds” will appear alongside singles “Pisces Moon,” “Sugar Water,” “Cornflower Blue,” and “Back To You,” on her forthcoming full-length album The Shark in Your Water due out May 27th via Nettwerk.
LISTEN & SHARE “OCTOBER BIRDS” HERE:
flowerface.ffm.to/octoberbirds
