London dreampoppers deary came to life during the COVID lockdown, starting with a mutual love of Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine. I hear this and other touch points in their dazzling and gorgeous new full length, Birding. The three-piece band consists of Ben Easton, Dottie Cockram, and Harry Catchpole. This new recording is not only a tribute to their feathered friends, it also references the wide world around us and our impact on it. It’s also a testament to the band’s obvious compositional skills, and their ability to enchant and warn us. I personally need music as an escape, and this fills the bill.
The opener ‘Smile’ is sparkling dream pop with softly cooing vocals over billowing waves of sound that morphs into shoegaze. It defines only part of heir sonic palette, and unlike other bands in this genre, you can hear the lyrics clearly. ‘Seabird’ is one of the singles, and it will immediately win you over, with a sound both familiar but clearly unique. I adore Dottie’s buttercream vocals as they swoop over like swallows on the hunt. ‘Baby’s Breath’ is the perfect marriage between their Slowdive and Cocteau influences, slow and majestic with those wonderfully sweet Fraser-like vocals.
‘Blue Ribbon’ is beautifully rendered indie pop with a catchy melody. The gauzy layers are dialled back a bit, all the more to move Dottie’s vocals front and centre. Just sublime! ‘Alma’ ramps up the energy, sparkling layers with heavenly vocals to top it all off. ‘No Sweeter Feeling’ gives me Cocteau shivers in the way that Dottie skips through blithely with vocals diving in and out. ‘Terra Fable’ is shadowy post-rock, markedly different from the other tunes here. ‘Alfie’ is a long form song that is a daydream wrapped in sylvan overtones. Like much of this album, it will transport you to an alternate headspace, wrapping you in bliss and helping you put aside worries about these “interesting times” we are stuck in.
A stellar, beautiful recording that all dream pop fans will savour.
