Towa Bird announces her debut album, American Hero

On “Sorry Sorry,” Towa brings her wistful vocals and delicately crafted lyrics to a song exploring what she refers to as “the uncertainties and insecurities of falling in love with a friend.”

“We all know this feeling: knowing that you love them as friend, but that there will always be something more, something unsaid,” says Towa. “The song delves into my internal monologue — a journey of weighing risks, asking a series of what-ifs, giving too much attention to irrational fears. Raising my defenses so high that I almost psych myself out. Worrying I might lose them and worrying that things will never be the same.”

“The title of American Hero is entirely ironic — I’m not American, and in my view I’m not heroic either,” says Towa, who was mostly raised in Thailand and London. “These songs are me being completely honest about queer love and all its essence; there’s a lot of yearning and vulnerability and dealing with difficult emotions. I grew up listening to so many male-gazey love songs, and it was important to put something out into the world that felt like the music I wanted for myself when I was a kid.”

Towa Bird performs at Uber One presents All Points East on Sunday 18 August alongside Beabadoobee, TV Girl, Ethel Cain, Arlo Parks, Sir Chloe, Wasia Project, Infinity Song, Wisp, in support of Mitski who is making her festival headline debut.