Louder Than War favourites, British Birds, are set to release their third album, Murmurate, Oscillate via Skep Wax Records on 16th October.
You can pre order the album here
British Birds will be no strangers to long term readers with their previous self-released albums, 2024’s In Search Of Mr Rykyn and 2025’s Silence Daedalus both being reviewed by Nathan Whittle. The duo, core members being siblings Bobby and Emma Townson, were also being ‘ones to watch’ in 2025. Between their first couple of album things really started to fly (pun intended). The end of 2024 saw them release a new EP, head out on tour with The Lovely Eggs, and get picked up by BBC6’s Marc Riley for a live session. Since last year’s appearance in the Top 100 albums of the year, they’ve now signed to the Kent based Skep Wax Records, run by Indie royalty Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher.
Based in Chorley, Lancashire, British Birds are a resolutely DIY band. Bobby records and mixes all the music; Emma creates all the artwork. Along with the siblings Bobby and Emma Townson, they’re joined on the record by Dominic Lawson on drums by (apart from Michael Aindley on Just Like Them) and James Robinson on bass. They are already one of the most exciting live bands in the UK, combining the garage-punk energy of Billy Childish, the wry Elish sophistication of
XTC and the witty pop inventiveness of The Lovely Eggs.
New album Murmurate, Oscillate kicks off with recent single, Lie Down With Dogs, Stand Up With Fleas, a rousing expression of exasperation at our passivity in the face of lame authority. British Birds are acute observers of the English political scene, shrouding their observations in humour and surrealism. Polka Dot Eyes is another piece of sharp social observation: it portrays Lancashire lads – friends from school – who join the Army and return home physically and mentally damaged. The song is simultaneously disturbing, funny and catchy as hell. From the fog of disinformation and doubt that surrounds us all in 2020s Britian, British Birds embrace the darkness, but with wit and verve – no slogans, no easy answers – and with an energy that helps us escape the mundanity of a declining island. This might all sound a bit bleak, but it’s not: every single one of the songs on this album has a chorus as big as a house.
There are personal songs too: Scary Movies is a poignant description of Bobby and Emma’s grandfather, who delighted in showing them horror films when they were kids – giving them sneak previews of the darkness they’d come to embrace as adults; Just Like Them is a celebration of introversion: it might not be fun, but it’s better than being an idiot. (Paradoxically, any other introverts who hear this song will feel impelled to join in in the chorus.) Blame Game and Thunder Claps examine the darkness inherent in relationships: there is always an impending storm, if you recognise the low hum of the imminent thunder. Once again: the choruses of these songs confound the melancholy sentiment.
You’ll get the same impression if you see British Birds live: Bobby’s ferocious guitar and dark lyrics are counterpointed with Emma’s sometimes haunting, sometimes playful vocal responses and insistent rhythms. You’ll be swept away by the energy of a band who don’t know the meaning of limits. And as the songs get darker and darker the smile on your face gets wider and wider. Having head a preview of the album the closing track, Two Dead Bees, struck me in the same way as hearing For Now and Ever, the closing track on Super Furry Animals debut Fuzzy Logic, a perfect end to an album, a singalong with encouragement to join in, a satisfying conclusion…
If anyone is wondering (who doesn’t know) Murmuration is the low hum made by those vast, beautifully choreographed flocks of starlings as they simultaneously flap their wings and take to the sky. Some people say that the frequency of this unique, rumbling, oscillating sound can cure diseases. Like the murmurating flocks of starlings, these British Birds create a sound which will brighten your day if nothing else…
British Birds will be embarking on a headline tour of the UK in early 2027, and there will be album launch gigs in Blackpool and London.
17 Oct: London, Rough Trade West (acoustic)
24 Oct: Blackpool, Bootleg Social
11 Dec: London, Lexington
You can find more on British Birds at their Linktree
Photo supplied by Skep Wax Records
All words by Iain Key. See his author profile here or find him via his LinkTree
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