Thea Gustafsson AKA: Becky and the Birds, releases with her self-produced debut album, Only Music Makes Me Cry Now, on November 15th via 4AD. Ahead of the album, Gustafsson has shared the final single “To trust you.” Says Gustafsson of the track’s thematic content: “This song is for anyone who’s dealing with trust issues. When something has happened that broke your trust for someone, how do you find it again and not let it eat you up forever in every way possible? And most importantly, how do you trust yourself and your intuition without going insane? I wanted the production to work with this concept to soundtrack the madness and darkness that one can get stuck in.” Becky and the Birds – ‘To Trust You’

Gustafsson began laying the groundwork for her debut Becky and the Birds album in 2021, during a time largely informed by a wide array of sources, including: insight from past collaborations with Dijon, Seinabo Sey, and Lapsley; obscure Bandcamp deep-dives; visits to live sets across London and her native Stockholm; a variety of media fixations (including Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine, Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, and Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth); and her emotional processing in the aftermath of a life-altering breakup. Upon returning to the studio, she was motivated to look inward and come to terms everything she was feeling, in addition to returning to her exploratory musical roots with the intention of staying eager, curious, and overall, brave.

Earlier this year, Gustafsson introduced her forthcoming debut record with two previous singles – an ethereal and intimate track entitled ‘When she holds me’, a gorgeous post-breakup lament entitled ‘I made my baby cry’ and a beautifully transportive sound bath of sleek hazy hooks and hypnotic drum tracks entitled ‘Anymore’. Notably, the incomparable Elton John recently played ‘I made my baby cry’ on his Rocket Hour radio show on Apple Music 1, noting that it is the “best record (he’s) heard in a long, long time”.

Becky and the Birds
Only Music Makes Me Cry Now
4AD

1. Star
2. Anymore
3. To trust you
4. I look at the choices I made
5. I made my baby cry
6. When she holds me
7. London is not the same
8. Everything
9. Elsa 4-ever
10. Won’t do that
11. Celebrity // don’t leave
12. Only music makes me cry now

Becky and the Birds 2024 Tour Dates

14 November – STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, Fotografiska
20 November – LONDON, UK, The George Tavern
13 December – STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, Debaser

Pre-order Only Music Makes Me Cry Now by Becky and Birds  HERE