Erin Birgy

{{short description|American singer}} {{Infobox musical artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Erin Birgy | image = File:Mega Bog Streaming.jpg | image_size = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | alias = Mega Bog | birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|32|2021|8|10}} | birth_place = Idaho, U.S. | origin = | death_date =  | death_place = | genre = {{hlist|Avant-pop<ref name=paste/> experimental pop<ref name=cos/>|folk<ref name=pitchfork1/>|jazz<ref name=pitchfork1/><ref name=paste/>|experimental pop<ref name=paste/><ref name=pitchfork1/>}} | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|musician|record producer}} | instrument = {{hlist|Vocals| guitar}} | years_active = 2009–present | label = {{hlist|Mexican Summer|Paradise of Bachelors|Couple Skate|Gnome Life|Wizards of the Ghost}} | website = {{URL|megabog.com}} | spouse = {{marriage|Rob Savage|2023}} }}

'''Erin Birgy''' (born 1988 or 1989), better known as '''Mega Bog''', is an American experimental pop singer, songwriter, and musician.<ref name=pitchfork1/> They have released seven studio albums.

==Early life== Erin Birgy was born in Idaho in 1988 or 1989.<ref name=moreland>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/mega-bog-life-and-another-interview|title=Step Into the Inscrutable World of Mega Bog|date=August 2, 2021|accessdate=August 10, 2021|work=Pitchfork|first=Quinn|last=Moreland}}</ref> They kept horses as a child and were part of a traveling rodeo, in which they practiced barrel racing, calf roping and mutton busting.<ref name=moreland/> In their teens they moved to Spokane, Washington, then Olympia, Washington.<ref name=moreland/>

== Career == Birgy took on the name Mega Bog in around 2009,<ref name="pitchfork1">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/mega-bog-dolphine/|title=Mega Bog: ''Dolphine''|date=July 3, 2019|accessdate=April 10, 2020|work=Pitchfork|first=Quinn|last=Moreland}}</ref> having previously performed under the names Little Swamp and Midi Marsh.<ref name="moreland" /> In 2019 Birgy and James Krivchenia of Big Thief moved to Los Angeles, then to an off-grid cabin in New Mexico.<ref name="moreland" />

Birgy's regular collaborators include Krivchenia and Meg Duffy.<ref name=moreland/> Their work has been compared to that of Animal Collective,<ref name=paste/> Big Thief,<ref name=pitchfork1/> the Blue Nile,<ref name=allmusic2/> David Bowie,<ref name=pitchfork2>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22843-mega-bog-happy-together/|title=Mega Bog: ''Happy Together''|date=February 6, 2017|accessdate=April 10, 2020|work=Pitchfork|first=Quinn|last=Moreland}}</ref> Tim Buckley,<ref name=lat/> Aldous Harding,<ref name=pitchfork1/><ref name=quietus/> Julia Holter,<ref name=quietus/> Cate Le Bon,<ref name=paste/><ref name=pitchfork1/><ref name=quietus/> Laura Marling,<ref name=npr>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/11/01/500064426/songs-we-love-mega-bog-fwee|title=Songs We Love: Mega Bog, 'Fwee'|date=November 1, 2016|accessdate=April 12, 2020|publisher=National Public Radio|first=Laura|last=Snapes}}</ref> Joni Mitchell,<ref name=lat/> Nico,<ref name=npr/> Jessica Pratt,<ref name=pitchfork1/> the Sea and Cake,<ref name=npr/> Steely Dan,<ref name=allmusic2/> Stereolab,<ref name=allmusic/> Vanishing Twin,<ref name=quietus/> Caetano Veloso,<ref name=lat/> and Weyes Blood.<ref name=quietus/>

=== ''Okay Human'' (2011) === ''Okay Human'' was released in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/okay-human-mw0003087493|title=Mega Bog: ''Okay Human''|accessdate=April 11, 2020|work=AllMusic}}</ref>

=== ''Gone Banana'' (2014) === ''Gone Banana'' was released in 2014. Ben Salmon of ''Paste'' wrote that the album "simmers quietly, an avant-pop album that sounds like it was recorded around the corner and down the hall so as not to wake the neighbors."<ref name=paste>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/mega-bog/mega-bog-dolphine-review/|title=Mega Bog: ''Dolphine'' Review|date=July 1, 2019|accessdate=April 11, 2020|work=Paste|first=Ben|last=Salmon}}</ref> Adria Young of ''The Coast'' described the album as "a collection of vocal and aural whispers set against sassy jazz saxophone and dissonant sounds."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/mega-bog-standard/Content?oid=4370359|title=Mega Bog standard|date=July 17, 2014|accessdate=April 11, 2020|work=The Coast|first=Adria|last=Young}}</ref> Reviewing the album for ''AllMusic'', Fred Thomas described it as a "fully formed distillation of the project's various muses" and praised its creation of "a strange, almost unnameable type of mood, one that lingers softly for a while after the album comes to a close."<ref name=allmusic2>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/gone-banana-mw0002716319|title=Mega Bog: ''Gone Banana''|accessdate=April 12, 2020|work=AllMusic|first=Fred|last=Thomas}}</ref> Nina Corcoran of ''Consequence of Sound'' suggested that ''Gone Banana''{{'}}s stylistic risk-taking "throws it off from hitting a clean stride", but described Birgy as "someone who’s truly walking their own path with experimental pop" and described the album as "ahead of its time".<ref name=cos>{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2014/10/album-review-mega-bog-gone-banana/|title=Mega Bog – Gone Banana|date=October 31, 2014|access-date=April 12, 2020|work=Consequence|first=Nina|last=Corcoran}}</ref>

=== ''Happy Together'' (2017) === ''Happy Together'' was released in 2017. The album was mixed and mastered by James Krivchenia of Big Thief, and also features Meg Duffy.<ref name=pitchfork2/> The album's lyrics deal with an experience of sexual assault and the music industry's treatment of women and survivors of rape.<ref name=bd>{{cite web|url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/mega-bog-shares-her-positive-and-negative-experiences-with-artistic-communities-on-happy-together|title=Mega Bog Shares Her Experiences with Artistic Communities on 'Happy Together'|date=February 3, 2017|accessdate=April 12, 2020|work=Bandcamp Daily|first=Laura|last=Snapes}}</ref>

''Pitchfork''{{'}}s Quinn Moreland praised the malleability of the album and of Birgy's vocals in particular, which she described as "fluctuat[ing] from an operatic soprano to a wispy sage to a windswept Gold Dust Woman."<ref name=pitchfork2/> Moreland singled out "192014" and "Fwee" for praise, characterizing the former as "haunting" and "interstellar" and the latter as a meditation "on inner peace following a period of trauma."<ref name=pitchfork2/> Ben Salmon of ''Paste'' argued that "''Happy Together'' radiated a new confidence, pairing Birgy’s unconventional song structures with gauzy production and strange jazz jaunts."<ref name=paste/> Writing for ''Tiny Mix Tapes'', Leah B. Levinson described the album as "a balancing act between the theatrical and the cool: careening, turning the confessional on its side, and muddling the surrounding water with affects of the surreal." Levinson identified "Worst Way" as the album's "coolest and most vulnerable" point, arguing that it deals with "the transformation of pain and its reflection into assuredness and experience."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/mega-bog-happy-together|title=Mega Bog: ''Happy Together''|accessdate=April 12, 2020|work=Tiny Mix Tapes|first=Leah B.|last=Levinson}}</ref>

Gorilla vs. Bear placed ''Happy Together'' tenth on its list of the best albums of 2017, describing it as "a dreamy, jazzy opus ... that addresses some dark and relevant themes in an elegant and surreal way.... The most under-appreciated album of the year."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gorillavsbear.net/gorilla-vs-bears-albums-of-2017/|title=Gorilla vs. Bear's albums of 2017|date=December 3, 2017|accessdate=April 11, 2020|work=Gorilla vs. Bear|first=Chris|last=Cantalini}}</ref>

=== ''Dolphine'' (2019) === ''Dolphine'' was released in 2019 via the North Carolina–based label Paradise of Bachelors. The album is inspired by the work of the science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin.<ref name=pitchfork1/> The album was engineered by Krivchenia, who also contributed percussion and effects; Duffy also features on guitar.<ref name=pitchfork1/>

Quinn Moreland of ''Pitchfork'' wrote that "Birgy is not a storyteller in the traditional, linear sense. Rather, she strings crisp and enigmatic fragments into enchanting collages."<ref name=pitchfork1/> Moreland continued: "Birgy’s unapologetic commitment to her inner code. This is her reality, and sometimes it can be stranger—and certainly more poetic—than fiction" and concluded that "Even at its most inexplicable, there’s not a moment on Dolphine that feels careless."<ref name=pitchfork1/> Diva Harris of ''The Quietus'' described ''Dolphine'' as a collection "of shimmering dirges which could just as easily soundtrack ancient woodland or the night sky as the deepest imaginable depths of the sea" and noted that the album's "whimsy" is accompanied by "grit and tough shit": "For all of ''Dolphine''{{'}}s cuteness – every crying spider, wind chime, and faerie – there’s an equal and opposite: a trollish man touching a woman without consent, a steaming dirty nappy, another murder."<ref name=quietus>{{cite web|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/26797-mega-bog-dolphine-review|title=Mega Bog: Dolphine|date=July 16, 2019|accessdate=April 11, 2020|work=The Quietus|first=Diva|last=Harris}}</ref> Writing in ''Paste'', Ben Salmon compared ''Dolphine'' positively to Birgy's two previous studio albums, arguing that the sound quality, performance and songs all constitute an improvement, and praised the title track and "Fwee Again", which he described as "unbridled exploration that goes through about three iterations—spacey intro, jittery indie rock, spooky piano tune".<ref name=paste/> Fred Thomas, reviewing the album for ''AllMusic'', described it as Birgy's "strongest statement in a history of exceptional work" and praised "For the Old World", "Left Door" and "Dolphine".<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/dolphine-mw0003273121|title=Mega Bog: ''Dolphine''|accessdate=April 11, 2020|work=AllMusic|first=Fred|last=Thomas}}</ref> Randall Roberts of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that on the album "Birgy harnesses her voice, a breathy, elastic instrument that she flexes in myriad ways, in service of songs in which no two measures are alike" and "phrases her lines with the ear of an actor, conveying emotional info and drama with each oblong couplet."<ref name=lat>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-ca-ms-california-sounds-mega-bog-sfv-acid-automatic-20190710-story.html|title=California Sounds: Mega Bog's curious folk rock, an SFV Acid trip and Automatic's dance punk|date=July 10, 2019|accessdate=April 11, 2020|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Randall|last=Roberts}}</ref>

=== ''Life, and Another'' (2021) === ''Life, and Another'' was released on July 23, 2021, again on Paradise of Bachelors. The album features collaborations with Krivchenia, Duffy and Andrew Dorset of Lake.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/mega_bog_shares_video_for_new_song_weight_of_the_earth_on_paper|title=Mega Bog Shares Video for New Song 'Weight of the Earth, on Paper'|date=June 16, 2021|accessdate=June 24, 2021|work=Under the Radar|first=Mark|last=Redfern}}</ref> Philip Sherburne of ''Pitchfork'' described the album as "a firehose of cryptic metaphors, veiled allusions, and seemingly disconnected thoughts sprayed against a bright, skeletal frame of jagged jazz-prog."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/mega-bog-maybe-you-died/|title=Mega Bog: 'Maybe You Died'|date=14 July 2021|access-date=26 July 2021|work=Pitchfork|first=Philip|last=Sherburne}}</ref> ''Pitchfork'' named the album one of the 31 best rock albums of 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-rock-albums-2021/|title=The 31 Best Rock Albums of 2021|date=8 December 2021|access-date=19 February 2023|work=Pitchfork|first1=Quinn|last1=Moreland|first2=Nina|last2=Corcoran|first3=Kelly|last3=Liu|first4=Evan|last4=Minsker|first5=Jillian|last5=Mapes|first6=Stuart|last6=Berman|first7=Simon|last7=Reynolds|first8=Anna|last8=Gaca|first9=Allison|last9=Hussey|display-authors=3}}</ref>

=== ''End of Everything'' (2023) === ''End of Everything'' was released in May 2023. The album features collaborations with Duffy, Krivchenia, and Jackson Macintosh of Tops.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/mega-bog-announces-new-album-end-of-everything-shares-video-for-new-song-watch|title=Mega Bog Announces New Album ''End of Everything'', Shares Video for New Song: Watch|date=15 February 2023|access-date=19 February 2023|work=Pitchfork|first=Nina|last=Corcoran}}</ref> The ''Pitchfork'' review called the album "far more challenging than the lush, sprightly ''Life, and Another''; although a good deal shorter, it’s more dense, and it can feel overwhelming."<ref>{{cite web |last1=D’Souza |first1=Shaad |title=End of Everything |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/mega-bog-end-of-everything/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=10 February 2024}}</ref> ''Paste'' rated it 8.4.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chodzin |first1=Devon |title=Album of the Week {{!}} Mega Bog: End of Everything |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/mega-bog/end-of-everything-album-review |website=Paste |access-date=10 February 2024 |date=May 18, 2023}}</ref>

==Other work== Birgy appeared in an episode of the period drama television series ''Vinyl'', playing the Velvet Underground's drummer Moe Tucker.<ref name=bd/>

==Personal life== Birgy married English filmmaker Rob Savage in November 2023.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/mega_bog/p/CzjUpDqtyan/</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{commons category}} * [https://megabog.com Official website] * {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0003294079}} * [https://megabog.bandcamp.com Mega Bog] at Bandcamp * {{discogs artist|4197547}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bog, Mega}} Category:Living people Category:Singers from Los Angeles Category:21st-century American women singers Category:21st-century American singers Category:Avant-pop musicians Category:Experimental pop musicians Category:American folk singers Category:American women folk singers Category:American jazz singers Category:American women jazz singers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:1980s births Category:Musicians from Idaho