Channelling influences such as Kate Bush and Warpaint, Bird are a hypnotic three-piece band from Liverpool who graced an intimate audience with their haunting presence at the Duchess venue a couple of weeks ago.
Adele Emmas, the lead singer of this trio, is a real life, modern day Siren. Her ability to not only hit but maintain ridiculously high notes is both astounding and hypnotic.
But that’s not to say the other two members are redundant. Sian Williams provides some amazing guitar skill as well as gorgeous, lingering harmonies. The standout song in the set to me was definitely ‘Ophelia’, the title track of their latest EP.
The harmonies are stunning and, seeing it live especially, the lyrics take you on a journey through an intricately woven story.
The commanding drum beats from the only male member of the group, Alexis Samata, also add a great deal of intensity to the arrangement, especially when building up to the dramatic close which leaves you really wanting more.
After signing to Jack To Phono Records, playing a UK tour and a sold out EP launch back in 2012, the band have since built up a large, loyal fan base in their home town of Liverpool and other areas of the UK alongside releasing successful EPs.
They were also featured as The Guardian’s ‘New Band Up North’ in December 2012, saying “Liverpool trio BIRD are creating music that’s hauntingly beautiful and forcefully captivating.
“Their poetic lyrics take your mind on a journey making you feel like you’re walking around in a gothic novel.”
Bird are a band of dark beauty, with the intense harmonies and lyrics to not only give you goose bumps but to leave you feeling haunted for hours afterwards, with their other worldly sound. It would seem that, like their namesake, the sky is the limit for the shoegaze trio.
STEPH BARNSLEY