deary’s Birding captures a band settling into its identity across 11 tracks that move from ocean-deep shoegaze to lighter, more ethereal indie moments. It’s a record shaped by contrast: weight and openness, intensity and release.
The album title reflects both a sense of expansion and a more grounded awareness of the world around us. Rather than escapism alone, Birding draws attention to the ways people shape their environment and themselves, pairing that outlook with a noticeably evolved sound. Lyrics are starker, the instrumentation heavier, and the emotional stakes higher than on the band’s earlier releases.
Opening track ‘Smile’ sets the tone, coupling buzzsaw guitars and delicate textures with a stark reflection on violence against women. It’s a confronting moment, and one that signals a new willingness to engage with difficult subject matter. Lead single ‘Seabird’ shifts that gravity into something more hopeful, driven by steady, trip-hop-tinged rhythms and wide, sky-filling guitar layers. Elsewhere, the seven-and-a-half-minute ‘Alfie’ leans fully into slow-burning dreampop sprawl, while ‘Alma’ offers the album’s most immediate, melodic turn.
Birding presents deary as a band unafraid to broaden their scope, finding strength in both softness and force.
Pickup available at Dreamhouse Records London
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