Finlay Birch on Letting Songs Unwind and Learning to Carry the Weight
Punk Head: “I Want You” feels emotionally resolved in a way a lot of love songs aren’t. Did that clarity come with age, or did finishing the song help you find it?
Finlay Birch: I think it’s a bit of both. I wrote it when I was younger, but I don’t think I fully understood what I was saying at the time. Finishing it years later, I realised it’s not really about needing someone, it’s about wanting them without losing yourself in it. That clarity probably comes with age more than anything, but the process of recording it definitely helped me settle into that feeling properly.
Punk Head: You kept returning to this track for years without releasing it. What was missing before, and what finally made it feel complete?
Finlay Birch: It never quite felt like it had a home before. I’d play it live or revisit it, but something about it didn’t feel finished, more like a sketch than a statement. I think what was missing was the right environment and people around it. Recording it at An Tobar with Dylan, keeping it quite honest and restrained, made it feel like it finally landed where it was meant to be.
Punk Head: Working with a close friend like Dylan Cooper, how do you navigate moments when you disagree creatively?
Finlay Birch: We’re pretty honest with each other, which helps. There’s a level of trust there where you can say if something’s not working without it becoming a big thing. Usually, if we disagree, we’ll just try both ideas and see what actually serves the song better. It’s never really about ego, more just about getting to the best version of it.
Punk Head: The album title suggests something gradually loosening or unfolding. Do you feel like making this record has actually changed your relationship to that “weight,” or just helped you understand it better?
Finlay Birch: I’d say it’s helped me understand it more than anything. The weight doesn’t just disappear, but you learn how to carry it differently. Making the record gave me space to sit with those feelings and not rush them. In a way, that’s where the “unwind” comes from, not everything being fixed, but things softening a bit.
Punk Head: You’ve lived with these songs for nearly a decade. Was there any fear in finally letting them go?
Finlay Birch: Yeah, definitely. There’s a comfort in keeping songs to yourself; they stay exactly how you imagine them. Once they’re out, they belong to other people in a way. But I think that’s also the point of it. There’s a bit of letting go involved, trusting that they’ll land wherever they need to.
