Exclusive: L.A. Rockers Kills Birds Share New Video “Ow”

Following the announcement of their self-titled debut album, Los Angeles rockers Kills Birds have shared a Cris Gris-directed video for their new single “Ow,” debuting exclusively at Paste below. Their album was produced by Justin Raisen (Sky Ferreira, Angel Olsen, Miya Folick) and it’s out on Raisen’s own KRO Records on Aug. 28. “Ow” follows the release of their fiery debut single, “Worthy Girl.”

“Ow” has the kind of reckless thrash and willfully messy lyrics that seem absent from a lot of today’s guitar music. It bleeds with stark confidence, primitive guitars and grating lead vocals, and it embodies the slightly threatening but ultimately exhilarating swagger that you get from spitting on the concrete or gleefully launching into a mosh pit.

“This is the first song we wrote where we really embraced ourselves and established the way we all write together—with total abandon, and no regard for what is expected,” explains lead singer Nina Ljeti and guitarist Jacob Loeb. “I started playing the riff. We hit record on an iPhone and then Nina started singing and yelling gibberish in my bedroom. Speaking in tongues and shit. From that point forward, we abandoned any sense of what the song should be. It kind of wrote itself.”

Watch Kills Birds’ new video for “Ow” below.