A murmuration is the low hum made by thousands of starlings as they take flight together, and some say its frequency has healing powers. I don’t know if Murmurate, Oscillate can cure anything, but British Birds have managed something similar with their new album: getting a whole flock of different sounds and ideas moving together, and somehow making it all work.
At the heart of the band are siblings Bobby and Emma Townson from Chorley, Lancashire, for whom DIY is simply a way of life. Bobby records and mixes the songs, Emma takes care of all the artwork, and their first two albums were self-released. After touring with The Lovely Eggs, The Bug Club and BC Camplight, the band are now releasing their third album through Skep Wax, effortlessly bringing together old influences, cheeky humour and great melodies.
Across eleven songs, British Birds jump from garage punk to power pop, from new wave to danceable post-punk and British psychedelia, somehow making raw guitars and irresistibly catchy choruses feel right at home together. There are clean guitars and twisting rhythms reminiscent of XTC, the angular funk of Gang of Four, the eccentric vocal interplay of The B-52’s and the infectious immediacy of The Undertones. Every now and then, there’s also a dash of Super Furry Animals’ playful psychedelia or the rough-edged garage sound of Billy Childish.
“Bayonet” has a distinctly sixties beat, “Thunder Claps” is bursting with funky energy, and “Blame Game” brings a wiry post-punk groove reminiscent of Delta 5, while “Scary Movies” dives headfirst into garage rock. Along the way, acoustic guitars, abrasive riffs, toy-like keyboards and bass lines with a life of their own weave through songs that shift in intensity without warning. The contrast between Bobby’s vocals and Emma’s responses, sometimes sweet and sometimes openly sarcastic, gives the album a theatrical streak that’s as entertaining as it is distinctive.
Beneath all this exuberance lies a pretty bleak view of England today. “Lie Down With Dogs, Stand Up With Fleas” takes aim at political incompetence, crumbling public services and conformity, while “Polka Dot Eyes” tells the story of a young soldier who comes home broken. Loneliness, relationships falling apart and the struggle to fit in crop up elsewhere, always filtered through a dark, surreal sense of humour that stops things becoming too solemn. There’s room for tenderness too: “Scary Movies” looks back fondly on horror film nights with the Townsons’ grandfather.
The album closes with “Two Dead Bees”, a warm, increasingly choral song that turns personal anguish into a communal singalong. I can’t think of a better way to end a record packed with so many ideas and so much energy. British Birds bring together different strands of British independent rock, making them sound fresh and thoroughly contemporary. A cracking album, as clever as it is infectious, that puts them among the most exciting garage pop bands around right now.
Listen to Murmurate, Oscillate in full here
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