Loud, messy, and painfully honest in all the best ways, Towa Bird’s “FML” feels like falling apart in real time. The rising singer/songwriter traces the lines between longing, humor, and heartbreak in her debut album’s opening song, sketching a portrait of queer love in full volume.
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Stream: “FML” – Towa Bird
There’s a moment in Towa Bird’s “FML” that feels like a wink and a gut punch at the same time.
“Sit on the couch and watch ‘Jennifer’s Body’ / Tell you she’s hot and then say that I’m sorry.” It’s funny. It’s awkward. It’s real. And it’s exactly the kind of lyric that makes you pause mid-scroll and think, Wait, who is this?
Towa Bird is the kind of artist who doesn’t just write songs. She builds emotional ecosystems. “FML,” the opening track of her 2024 debut album American Hero, is a three-minute burst of queer longing, late-night overthinking, and guitar-driven catharsis. It’s messy in the way real feelings are messy. It’s loud in the way heartbreak sometimes needs to be. And it’s tender in the way only someone who’s lived through it can make it sound.
I want the best for you
Breakfast in bed for you
Just to be next to you every day
And if you can handle it
Here’s my Los Angeles
I’ll make the plans for us every day
Every day
Born in Hong Kong, raised between London and Thailand, and now based in LA, Bird’s story is as global as her sound. But what makes her music hit isn’t geography. It’s intimacy. “FML” doesn’t try to universalize queer experience. It zooms in. It gives us the awkward silences, the impulsive texts, the way desire can feel like both a superpower and a curse. And it does it all with a guitar tone that feels like it’s been waiting years to be let loose.
‘Cause I got ideas in my fantasy
You just fly here, start a family
F* my life
‘Cause I can’t live without you
I might die
‘Cause I can’t live without you
There’s something radical about how casually Towa Bird claims space. She’s not asking to be seen. She’s already in the room, turning the amp up. “FML” isn’t just a song about queer love. It’s a song that exists because of queer love. It’s a reminder that representation doesn’t have to be polished or perfect to be powerful. Sometimes it just needs to sound like the truth.
And that’s what “FML” does. It tells the truth, loudly, with distortion and eyeliner and a heart that’s been cracked open and turned into melody. It’s the kind of song you play when you’re not sure if you’re in love or just spiraling. It’s the kind of song that makes you feel less alone.
Swear when you get here
That I’ll always let you drive
Drag you to exercise every day
Sit on the couch and watch Jennifer’s body
Tell you she’s hot and say that “I’m sorry”
I’m sorry
And when it’s over, let the credits roll
Pull you closer, take off all your clothes
But what makes it gut wrenching isn’t just the lyrics. It’s the way Bird delivers them. Her voice doesn’t just sing. It pleads. It laughs through the pain. It clings. There’s a desperation in the chorus that feels like it’s clawing its way out of her chest. “F* my life, ’cause I can’t live without you.” It’s not subtle. It’s not poetic. It’s just honest. And that’s what makes it hurt in the best way.
F* my life
‘Cause I can’t live without you
I might die
‘Cause I can’t live without you
I’m not alright
‘Cause I can’t live without you
F* my life
‘Cause I can’t live without you
The production is raw but intentional. The guitars are jagged. The drums hit like a panic attack. And the mix leaves just enough room for Bird’s voice to cut through like a confession whispered into a pillow. It’s not trying to be perfect. It’s trying to be felt.
“FML” is the kind of song that doesn’t just soundtrack a moment – it becomes the moment.
It’s the drive home after a fight. It’s the text you don’t send. It’s the silence after someone says “I love you” and you don’t know what to say back. It’s queer. It’s chaotic. It’s cathartic. And it’s exactly what pop-punk has been missing.
Towa Bird isn’t just shaping queer rock stardom. She’s making it feel like survival. And with “FML,” she’s given us a song that doesn’t just speak to the heart. It screams from it.
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Stream: “FML” – Towa Bird
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© courtesy of Interscope Records
© courtesy of Interscope Records
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