On the back of their AOTY candidate Every House We Built, Liverpool trio Exploring Birdsong (10) have been playing some quite intimate dates in support of their debut album, basically playing it in full with couple of tracks from their EP's.
Carrying over the 80's business aesthetic of that record to stage, after a pre-recorded welcome to Birdsong Property Development, they arrived in Strange Brew in brown and beige suits, surrounded by old school stage lights as they kickes off the set with Archipelago this slowly building cut had the audience captivated by Lynsey Ward's enchanting, crystalline vocals and introspective piano.
As it swelled Johnny Knight's bass started to crank out chunky djent-like grooves and drummer Matt Harrison began to lay down a masterclass in precision and pacing, the dedicated following for the band immediately animated and in love as they broke out into the funky 42, which ilicited another huge reaction, showcasing that as well as Exploring Birdsong do introspective prog, they do punchy pop just as well, if not better.
It was the string-laden love in that is I_You, through a throwback to The Collapse that brought Ward to the front of the stage for Arrhythmia, just her vocal and Knight on keys for something spine-tingling, after that a sample of John Farnham's You're The Voice played out, Knight trying to get the crowd involved which they dulty responded as Exploring Birdsong upped the funk with a staunch favourite of mine Spy In The House Of Love.
Watching the trio shift between these songs was effortless, virtuoso playing across the stage as the blend of keys, bass, drums and vocals, what was happening on stage was augmented by a backing track, but you know what, it's definitely to the benefit of a band like Exploring Birdsong who favour making everything sound as slick and close to the record as is it can be, but still showing the mastery of their instruments.
A special shout here to Maebe (8) whose triple guitar driven instrumental music opened the night at very short notice after the original tour support Hailaker had to pull out for medical reasons. The Bristol band made for an ideal beginning to the show, moving throughout their set by driving some great grooves and a flowing triple guitar attack.
Having recently opened Radar Festival Maebe have a kudos behind them and with this home town show they stepped up at the last minute to make sure there was a reward for anyone that turned up early, walking away with their own fans appeased and a lot of new one I'm sure.
As Exploring Birdsong stormed through the set the main set closers of You Like It Best When It Hurts and Every House We Built filled the room with reciprocal love, band and audience connected through the music, which made this gig feel intimate and special but also like an arena show in waiting, Birdsong Property Management will continue their corporate expansion after these shows, as tonight by the last notes of this set the Bristol market was ready invest all they had.
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