Atlas Bird – “ONYX” [Song Review]

Based in Leipzig, Germany, alternative duo Atlas Bird recently released their new single/music video, “ONYX,” a track lifted from their forthcoming album, produced by Franz Plasa.

Made up of Martin Schröder-Zabel (vocals, guitars) and Axel Kunz (drums, keyboards), Atlas Bird’s sound encompasses elements of alt-rock, alt-pop, and prog-rock, surpassing the depth and dimension expected from a duo, à la The White Stripes.

It’s a sound blending dreamy interludes with immensely resonant episodes, featuring sparkling piano textures and enormous, brawny guitars, along with the taut, angular rhinal tones of Schröder-Zabel’s voice, simultaneously infused with mystical tones and dangerous, almost brooding inflections.

Percussive taps and remote sing-song voices introduce “ONYX,” followed by the entry of Schröder-Zabel’s scratchy, reedy timbres as the once-far-flung voices take on hymn-like, even tribal textures. Heavy guitars, pealing gongs, and massive, rumbling drums push the harmonics to reverberating levels.

The ebbing and rising flow of the tune imbue it with bulky tints of prog-rock, reminiscent of Pink Floyd. This sonic juxtaposition furnishes an interplay of dark and light leitmotifs – the openness of shimmering tints over against subterranean pulsations.

At once dark and canticle-esque, “ONYX,” when combined with the portentous visuals of the video, delivers cap-a-pie surges of shadowy, ominous sensations.

Run Time: 4:11
Release Date: July 29, 2022
Record Label: KTF Records/Atlas Bird

Atlas Bird in January 2022