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I've been a Birdcloud fan ever since stumbling across their song Indianer on Myspace many years ago. I've always thought of them a surprisingly accurate commentary (and a bit of satire) on Southern stereotypes but have never been able to fully articulate what it is about them that makes me consider them far more than a joke. Then I ran across this Noisey article and the articulation was done for me. There's not a single passage that sums it all up but these two bits come close:
Subverting the popular cliche that tries to reduce country songwriting to a single trope of self-pity, "Bandit" is the ingenious exception that proves the rule, a blubbering elegy with so much weirdly empathic depth and weight that it justifies the cliche's existence. The song doesn't mock the woman's probable alcoholism and casual negligence, nor does it rationalize her pet's wholly preventable death. What it does do, though, is give the loneliness of an anonymous woman a couple of absurd moments to strut and fret in your mind before disappearing once again into oblivion. Historically, this is what country music has always done best.All and all, it's a great piece about a band that skirts the line of pathos and offensiveness. It's that underlying sadness mixed with their manic energy that makes the whole thing work so well. Dive In if you aren't familiar yet.
... "The last thing in the world either of us wants is to be seen as a comedy band, because, actually, I don't really think the music is all that fucking funny anyway," Green says. "Sure, life is fucked up and it's funny to laugh at that sometimes, but our songs are grounded in the real experiences of real people."
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