MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere Of Bird Call’s “Save Me” (Aimee Mann Cover)

Chiara Angelicola has always seen Aimee Mann as a champion of the female underdog. “Her songwriting exposes the fragility of women in a patriarchal world,” says the bracingly unique avant-pop singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who’s been performing as Bird Call for almost 20 years.

“Save Me,” Mann’s Oscar- and Grammy-nominated contribution to Paul Thomas Anderson’s award-winning 1999 film Magnolia, was a song that particularly resonated with Angelicola.

“It meant a lot to me personally when it first came out—it’s one of those songs I always spontaneously start singing in the car,” says the Marin County, Calif., native. “When we went to record, we were careful not to reference the original at all and just play by memory and feeling. Somehow it ended up this dream-pop thing with a little George Harrison.”

The track can be found on Bird Call’s new self-produced, self-released EP, Life Is Extraordinary, recorded and mixed by longtime collaborator Gabriel Galvin (Erin Durant, Michael Leviton). The seven tracks also feature drummer Jeremy Gustin (Albert Hammond Jr., David Byrne), bassist Scott Colberg (Calexico), guitarist Kirk Schoenherr (Tegan And Sara), trombonist Dave Smoota (TV On The Radio) and keyboardist Frederic Lyenn Jacques (Mark Lanegan).

“I think this record represents the most authentic version of Bird Call, untethered from any sort of genre trends or expectations,” says Angelicola.

Life Is Extraordinary comes five years after Bird Call’s last album, Year Of The Dogfish. During the extended break, Angelicola waited out the pandemic, became a new mom and struggled mightily with postpartum depression, coming away from it all with a sense of empowerment.

“Historically, my records have always felt really dark, and this is the first record I’ve made that focuses on joy,” she says. “More than anything, I hope the music will help others heal the way it’s healed me.”

We’re proud to premiere Bird Call’s “Save Me” video.

—Hobart Rowland