Black Leather Birds – “Nothing Ever Grows Here”

Black Leather Birds – “Nothing Ever Grows Here” – Single Review

There are a few moments throughout the history of sleepingbagstudios where it feels like I’m rubbing the sleep out of my eyes after waking from a long slumber, and this is one of them.  Because how on earth could it have been way back in October of 2022 that we featured Black Leather Birds last on these pages of ours?  That’s crazy!  Ain’t like this project hasn’t kept busy y’all…I feel like I basically turned my head after reviewing “Sleep Now With Your Fish” and Black Leather Birds somehow pumped out a ton of new material over the years to follow…you’ll see singles of all kinds online, including a new cut called “The Box” that is even newer than the song I’m here to talk to you about today, called “Nothing Ever Grows Here.”  I AM surprised, even if I shouldn’t be…I know A.G. Syjuco just well enough to know he’s never too far from his instruments and inspirations and that he’s always up to something…but yeah, to see it all there so neatly arranged online and there being far more in this catalog that I don’t have in comparison to what I do was honestly a bit of a shock!  Especially when I think of how fresh in my mind the sound of Black Leather Birds still is to me…it feels like yesterday that I was just listening to’em.

In a way, I kind of was.  While it’s true, I haven’t reviewed Black Leather Birds since 2022, the music of this delightfully twisted underground art project made its way onto the SBS Podcast on the second to last episode before we switched things up in 2025.  So I have been listening, though admittedly, still late.

As the deadly rhythm and grind of “Nothing Ever Grows Here” started up, I was immediately immersed back into a sound I truly love so damn much.  I mean, c’mon…Black Leather Birds has got this innate knack for creating a chaotic intensity without anything feeling like it’s ever out of control.  That’s kind of the thing…the magic, if you will.  A.G. thinks things through so efficiently, that the attention to detail he has always brought to his work makes even the strangest & bizarre sounds he creates sound like every moment is entirely under his command.  And what’s THIS I see?  He’s brought the Mrs. out for a little fun as well?  Ladies and gentlemen, yes indeed my eyes do not deceive me, nor do my ears – that is the one and only Mica Syjuco doing vocals for “Nothing Ever Grows Here” in tandem with her husband.  How freakin’ cool is that!?!  I mean, obviously it could have potentially been a ride on the Hindenburg and one of those awkward husband/wife pairings, of which there are…*shudder…SO MANY out there in this music scene we share – but this ain’t that.  This fits.  This works.  They sound completely AWESOME together, and so the darkly poetic style of Black Leather Birds continues to add more into its universe in the most perfect of ways.  Again, that’s to be expected somewhat, because we know that the Syjuco family name is synonymous with quality…you’ve been able to hear that throughout A.G.’s time spent in the band Jack Of None with his brother & sister, and now here again with his wife on this new single.

I had to wonder for a second or two if I’ve actually heard A.G. on the mic before, and if I was actually hearing two new vocalists this time around.  I can’t completely recall…but I suppose in a way, that’s a good thing…”Nothing Ever Grows Here” feels entirely fresh, despite the implications of its title.  The pair cleverly trade lines as the song continues its spiral into darkness, with Mica delivering her lines with confidence & concrete observations, while A.G. sounds like he’s musing & fascinated by the strangeness of his surroundings as they deliver their spoken word.  I’m proud to report that what they’re doing on the mic makes them both essential ingredients to this particular song, and that thanks to the way A.G. has chosen to thread their voices into “Nothing Ever Grows Here,” the vocals are right on par with the music in terms of what stimulates our interest in this song.  So hell yeah, I’m happy with that, and fully confident that you will be too.  That being said, Jesus H. Jon Benjamin, the main riff is so freakin’ MEATY that it really does do its best to steal the show…but even that’s gotta battle the stellar squelching of frequencies and tones that standout in all the right ways, surprisingly dreamy & soulful breakdowns in the music along the way, and of course all the incredible little details that A.G. puts into his production from the impeccable crystal clarity it possesses, to all the creepy & mysterious sounds you’ll experience along the way.  “Some words are without meaning/like ‘when’ or ‘how’ or ‘why’/they echo on the walls here, and wait for no reply” – trust me, I could go on and on about the lyricism and quote the whole song in trying to do so.  I’ll sum it up by saying this…and you can try this experiment at home…have a read through the lyrics before you even push play, and see how the words make you feel.  Chances are, you’ll get a bit of the creepiness…maybe.  Then when you’re listening, notice how the effect of the mysterious vibes in the music seem to twist and contort each lyrical line, giving them texture & context that they might not have even had otherwise, you feel me?  So there’s this like…uncanny ability that the Syjucos all seem to share in that they’re able to create these amazing sonic environments that can make even the most beautiful moments feel like they’re crawling right underneath your skin.  While it’s fair to say that a song like “Nothing Ever Grows Here” is still following a playbook that was started in Jack Of None, hearing how the sound and ideas have continued to expand and evolve into what it is today is audibly something to behold.

Full credit to both A.G. and Mica…this is a tremendously compelling song to listen to, and it wouldn’t be the same without’em both in the mix.  There ain’t a hair out of place to be found here in the design, writing, music, vocals, or production, and there’s nothing for me to complain about…and when you consider the massively widespread sound that you’ll experience as this tune shifts from the depths of darkness in its verses before it heads into the light with the uniqueness of its chorus, you’ll know that’s a serious achievement.  This is the kind of art-driven sound & ideas we get out of bed hoping to discover each & every day, straight up.  The kind of stunning combination of contrast that leads to an intriguing listen from start to finish, and induces an instant desire to repeat it all over again, immediately.

Find out more about Black Leather Birds from the official website at:  https://blackleatherbirds.com

Ya ha!  This link right here is the key to being the next artist or band featured here at sleepingbagstudios, so instead of ignoring it, fucking click it!