Humbird Shares Poignant & Lyrically Biting “Child of Violence”

Minnesota-native Humbird (Siri Undlin) shares another poignant and lyrically biting single called “Child of Violence.” With its blustery vocal drama, the psychedelic folk-rock song messily captures the anger and process of reckoning with white supremacy and manifest destiny in America as she sings: “I could be a break in the chain / I could be a break in the chain / I could be a piece of the change / When I talk about it, I’ll call it by its name.” It’s a theme carried on from her 2021 album Still Life, which was written in the wake of George Floyd’s murder near Siri’s neighborhood in South Minneapolis. Listen to “Child of Violence” HERE. 

Humbird set the tone for her new album (details forthcoming) with the Midwest-outlaw vibe of lead single “Cornfields and Roadkill.” Together, these two songs offer a glimpse into the ethos found within this upcoming collection of songs. “Time is passing,” Siri says. “Here we are in this Midwest city, feeling a lot of anger, but also respect, and wanting to honor how complicated that region is. It feels like part of the same thread [as Still Life] to me—instead of finding a safe place to process or creating a safe space for other people to process, it’s the moment when the anger comes up, and you have a bone to pick and a chip on your shoulder. It’s the next stage.”

Watch Humbird Perform “Child of Violence” Here:

Siri Undlin, the singer/songwriter behind Humbird, forges an explorative embodiment of the narrative folk song and balladry tradition for these modern times. Her debut album Pharmakon (2019) is a careful look at that which can both cure and wound us: love, ambition, winter, and seashells, to name a few lyrical topics. The record received critical acclaim from tastemakers such as Folk Alley and 89.3 The Current and amassed significant streams. Her sophomore album, 2021’s Still Life, focuses on small domestic moments in the context of global events. It is an album that cultivates soundscapes and intentional lyrics that tell braided stories while carving out reflective, fertile space to process current events. In between the two releases, Humbird and friends took to backyard campfires, forests, and planetariums (in over 100 pop-up locations) to perform acoustic ballads and fairytales with original improvised scores for micro audiences, adapting to the moment forced upon us by the global pandemic. Since returning to the road, Undlin and her bandmates have toured full-time across the US, UK and Ireland. With plenty of new music on the horizon, Humbird continues to share reflections that combine and subvert genres and perspectives via recordings, performances, zines, stories, and more.

Stay tuned for more music and news from Humbird.