Exploring Birdsong have been knocking around since 2017 – indeed, this reviewer distinctly remembers them appearing at a Summer’s End Festival in Chepstow around that time with an intriguing and rather folky performance. Soon after they released their distinctive version of Blue Oyster Cult’s classic Don’t Fear the Reaper, and followed that with EP’s but there seemed to be no sign of an album… until now. Every House we Built emerged earlier this summer and made quite a splash with an intoxicating mixture of rock and pop with elements of folk, electronica and even Prog. Featuring the gorgeous vocals of Lynsey Ward with Johnny Knight on synths and bass, alongside Matt Harrison on drums and percussion, Exploring Birdsong eschew some of the more obvious conventions of rock music with the emphasis on blending sounds with great harmony rather than spotlighting soloists. Exploring Birdsong have described their debut album ‘as an exploration of our interpersonal relationships, and is a journey of love, loss, heartbreak and growth.’
Every House we Built is multi-layered musically and dense with emotion. Archipelago sets the scene atmospherically arriving with the sound of rainfall and a gentle piano with Lynsey Ward’s crystalline vocals. An Archipelago is a chain of islands separated from each other which may symbolise the emotional detachment evident in this song as Ward proclaims defiantly:
Piano notes drop down gently with whispers in the background until the musical clouds open and down pour the drums and keyboards. It is a glorious opening evoking a range of emotions, combining vulnerability with widescreen dramatics, emblematic of the whole album. The band have shared that this engaging and impressive opening was based on an instrumental demo from 2022, and became the creative spark for the whole album.
In contrast 42 bursts in with a vigorous rhythm and staccato vocals, embellished with crunchy chords, reflecting a great urgency and a darker side. 42 focuses on the theme of someone seeing patterns and conspiracies in everything around them… and as we know the number ‘42’ is the meaning of life! Romanticize pulses in with frosty keyboards and equally icy vocals, framing sarcastic, dark lyrics about toxic relationships. The breakdown section is appropriately discordant, perhaps suggesting the chaotic nature of some relationships. There are echoes of the outstanding Norwegian band Meer, including the slick production and strong vocals, but Exploring Birdsong trace their own path, as they do in the following Footprints. Plaintive piano and vocals soon open out more expansively as the lyrics touch on the pain of losing a family member before they got to know them properly.
Arrhythmia is the term for irregular heartbeats caused by disrupted electric impulses, and Exploring Birdsong use that as a metaphor for our emotional dysregulation after a break up. Gentle chiming keyboards play under a fragile vocal – beautiful and vulnerable. A whirling, shimmering cloud of synths descends with softly syncopating drums. The tempo and volume increases until we hear a weirdly distorted guitar, emphasising a sense of dislocation. A wall of sound floods this dramatic piece taking it on to another level with multi-layered vocals… until it all drops away, leaving a soft shower of piano notes.
Exploring Birdsong are not afraid to mix it up, starting Spy in the House of Love with the drone of bagpipes from Elsa McTaggart, reminiscent of Marillion’s Brave, before it bursts forth with a more conventional rock/pop song about how Ward processed her feelings after being emotionally deceived after a difficult relationship break up. It may feel like the rather straightforward musical frame does not really fit the weightiness of the theme, but they still convey it with such smooth style. I_You is about self-doubt as Lynsey contrasts how she perceives herself as flawed, whereas she values how she is seen by her partner. Tripping along on a bed of strings this is another smoothly produced song but perhaps we need a bit more grit in these pearls?
The grit is provided immediately with The Warning, which is so much darker and more textured – a sinister bass from Johnny Knight cutting through alongside Matt Harrison’s punchy drums. This approach is wholly appropriate for the focus on manipulative relationship from the perspective of the narcissist and dominant partner. The darkness continues with the crunching guitars and thumping drums of You Like it Best When it Hurts, which conveys the anger of watching someone close immersing themselves in misery and avoiding healing. This is the heaviest, darkest expression on the album, with almost metallic sounding instrumentation.
The opening piano and vocal passage of Cartography has echoes of Tori Amos, developing into lush chamber pop upon a bed of strings. There is a real sense of yearning for someone to provide answers, or a map, when one feels lost after a broken relationship. As the album draws to a close, we enter the spectral sounding Every House we Built, which may sum up the whole album as it is about the constant cycle of building and then losing the ‘houses’ of new relationships. Softly undulating keyboards carry Ward’s soft vocals, which in their crystalline quality belies the bitterness and despair:
After an anguished outburst the floodgates open with a cascading torrent of drums and keyboards to take us to the end.
Final piece Meadowlands is named after the street in which Johnny Knight first lived with his wife, and the fluid tinkling piano intro reflects a more uplifting, positive atmosphere. There is an almost celebratory feeling as a wall of harmony vocals and a fanfare from the band carry us to what feels like the conclusion, except for a coda of wistful piano and echoing, distant storms – we have gone full circle.
Every House We Built is a triumphant and remarkably mature debut album from Exploring Birdsong, delving into a range of styles with great skill and sensitivity. It is almost impossible to pigeonhole this band which makes Every House we Built such a fascinating release. Open the door and explore this album.
TRACK LISTING
01. Archipelago (4:25)
02. 42 (4:02)
03. Romanticise (3:07)
04. Footprints (3:48)
05. Arrhythmia (4:29)
06. Spy in the House of Love (4:12)
07. I_ You (3:22)
08. The Warning (5:01)
09. You Like it Best When it Hurts (3:50)
10. Cartography (2:46)
11. Every House We Built (4:55)
12. Meadowlands (7:01)
Total Time – 55:30
MUSICIANS
Lynsey Ward – Vocals, Piano
Johnny Knight – Bass, Synths
Matt Harrison – Drums, Percussion
~ With:
Elaine Ambridge – Violin, Viola
Andy Crick – Cello
Elsa McTaggart – Pipes
Mathilda Riley – Narration
Rose Riley – Narration
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Long Branch Records
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 26th June 2026
DISCOGRAPHY
– The Thing with Feathers [EP] (2019)
– Dancing in the Face of Danger [EP] (2023)
– Every House We Built (2026)
LINKS
Exploring Birdsong – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram
