Rarely are new groups as exciting, talented or unique as Exploring Birdsong, the piano-led guitarless trio from Liverpool. Straddling progressive rock, pop, and uncategorizable genreblending beauty, the band are riding high following the release of their 2019 debut EP The Thing With Feathers (Long Branch Records).
Rarely too do you hear voices as captivating as frontwoman Lynsey Ward’s. Powerful, controlled, and spine-chillingly tender, Lynsey’s vocals help mark Exploring Birdsong as a prospect to watch, not least in the band’s staggering ‘The Downpour’, described by the band as “our Great Gig In The Sky”. Also playing keyboards, she is backed by the jawdropping talents of Matt on drums/ percussion and Jonny on bass/second keyboards (sometimes playing both bass and keys simultaneously).
The Thing With Feathers is broadly speaking a concept release, centred on the Seamus Heaney poem ‘Bye Child’ and the story of Kevin Halfpenny, one of the most bizarre cases of child cruelty ever recorded. This is mirrored in the EP title and cover art, with broken backbones becoming broken wings. The title itself also references Emily Dickinson’s “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers” poem.
Having graduated from Liverpool’s Institute of Performing Arts, the young group caught the eyes of key players in the UK press (Prog magazine, Kerrang! Magazine, Kerrang! Radio, Classic Rock Magazine) as well as placing high in the Prog Readers’ Poll and picking up two Prog Award nominations – all prior to their debut EP release.
Dancing in the Face of Danger, recorded and mixed at Northstone Studios, Bridgend, and released in March 2023, builds on the musical foundations of The Thing With Feathers. The five track EP has an evolutionary growth; synthesizers and a live string section add texture and gravity to the piano led core, and whilst the record isn’t conventionally conceptual, lyrically, the band describe each track as ‘having its own tale to tell’.
Among other early achievements, Exploring Birdsong were hand-picked to support Sleep Token (on their much-anticipated debut headline performance and subsequent debut headline tour), have toured with proggers Godsticks, and delivered stellar performances at HRH Prog and Winter’s End festivals.