Music Review: Icicle Works "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)"
Icicle Works
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Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)
Album: The Icicle Works
Year: 1984
Ian McNabb speaks up for lost teenagers in the earnest "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)."
Introspective guitars open the single, setting a cheerless tone. Then, the beat rapidly speeds up.
McNabb asks that parents listen to their teenagers and not turn away from them. He says that they want to hear their advice. He compares teenagers to birds, saying they are excited about life and all that it has to offer. However, with neglect and anger, it can be gone.
In the chorus, he says that teens are trying to find out who they are. They will make mistakes . They are also confused and don't know what to do. He says for the parents to accept them, regardless of their moods.
In the second verse, he says that teenagers are all over the place. They feel like they don't belong.
They become dejected and feel alone, wondering why they can't be like everyone else. He says parents need to reassure their kids. Otherwise, they will never be happy being themselves. However, they need have freedom to discover themselves, too.
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, McNabb repeats the song's title over a pleasant guitar solo.
Over another guitar solo, McNabb repeats part of the chorus.
The chorus is sung again to end the single.
"Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" has a great metaphor to it. Teenagers, like birds, are growing up and trying to navigate their way through the world. They fall, they hurt themselves and sometimes they don't even know where they are. It accurately sums up the typical adolescent.
However, McNabb's vocals are perky and overbearing. It seems like he's trying to be one of the teenager's friends instead of being the adult figure.
It's ironic that another one-hit wonder band SoHo did a much better version of the single. It can be heard at the end of the 1996 movie, "Scream." The female vocals are softer and motherly against the alternative dance beat.
"Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" is a well-written song but the vocals are all wrong.
Album: The Icicle Works
Year: 1984
Ian McNabb speaks up for lost teenagers in the earnest "Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)."
Introspective guitars open the single, setting a cheerless tone. Then, the beat rapidly speeds up.
McNabb asks that parents listen to their teenagers and not turn away from them. He says that they want to hear their advice. He compares teenagers to birds, saying they are excited about life and all that it has to offer. However, with neglect and anger, it can be gone.
"Love come, down upon us 'till you flow like water/Burning, with the hope of insight/Feathered, look they're covered with a bright elation/
Stolen, in the sight of love."
In the chorus, he says that teens are trying to find out who they are. They will make mistakes . They are also confused and don't know what to do. He says for the parents to accept them, regardless of their moods.
"We are, we are, we are but your children, finding our way/Around indecision, we are, we are, we are ever helpless/Take us forever, a whisper to a scream."
In the second verse, he says that teenagers are all over the place. They feel like they don't belong.
They become dejected and feel alone, wondering why they can't be like everyone else. He says parents need to reassure their kids. Otherwise, they will never be happy being themselves. However, they need have freedom to discover themselves, too.
"Birds fly, in the eye of the faithless daughter/Broken, at the bitter endWasted, sacrifice for a new nirvana/Night time, send us on our way."
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, McNabb repeats the song's title over a pleasant guitar solo.
"A whisper to a scream/A whisper to a scream/A whisper to a scream/A whisper to a scream."
Over another guitar solo, McNabb repeats part of the chorus.
"We are, we are, we are (whisper to a scream)/We are, we are, we are (whisper to a scream)."
The chorus is sung again to end the single.
"Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" has a great metaphor to it. Teenagers, like birds, are growing up and trying to navigate their way through the world. They fall, they hurt themselves and sometimes they don't even know where they are. It accurately sums up the typical adolescent.
However, McNabb's vocals are perky and overbearing. It seems like he's trying to be one of the teenager's friends instead of being the adult figure.
It's ironic that another one-hit wonder band SoHo did a much better version of the single. It can be heard at the end of the 1996 movie, "Scream." The female vocals are softer and motherly against the alternative dance beat.
"Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly)" is a well-written song but the vocals are all wrong.