EXPLORING BIRDSONG

— First review of this album —

Here is a band that is new to the prog scene, made up of young members (all three in their early-to-mid-twenties) who met at Uni (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) and clicked immediately. Linsey is a hard-driving, seriously focused artist who was inspired to sing by Leona Lewis, a British singer who won season three of Britain's The X Factor back in 2006. Lynsey's voice has been heard on recent prog albums from the likes of bands like Lifetime, Caligula's Horse, Kite Parade, Benjamin Croft, and even American "soulpunk" band, Nightlife. She is also the leader of a background singing trio made up of three of her best friends that call themselves Espera who have appeared on numerous albums in the metal world ( Malevolence, Sleep Token, Grimm, et al.). Exploring Birdsong may not be her only baby, but it earns her full focus when she and drummer Matt Harrison (Kill Or Cure, Wolf Company) and classically-trained musician, Jonny Knight (bass and synths) sit down together. One of the many amazing things about this collaboration is the fact that THERE ARE NO GUITARS (other than bass) EVER! Also, despite Lynsey's extraordinary voice and vocal performances, the band's lyricist is primarily Matt!! As Lynsey says in interviews, the three band members are on such a high degree of mutual sympathy that their songs and sessions feel as if they are of nearly one mind--as if their thoughts and ideas are so copacetic and agreeable as to feel totally interchangeable. This album, an EP, is the band's first--compiled and released when they were still in Uni in 2019. It is a testimony to their total and complete understanding that a career in music in the 21st Century is less about albums and tours than keeping one's name and music new and in front of their short-term-memory and video-obsessed audiences--it is about frequent releases and appearances on listener-friendly mediums, banking on winning over an interested and eager following. I had heard each of these songs in isolation as YouTube videos, but hearing them in sequence, compiled as an album, gives them double the power.

Line-up / Musicians: - Lynsey Ward / vocals, keyboards - Jonny Knight / bass guitar, keyboards - Matt Harrison / drums, percussion

With guest musicians: - Alex Dunaway - Ari Benjamin - Camilla Sky - Mathilda Riley (ESPERA) - Mike Woodvine - Paige Phillips (ESPERA)

1. "Hope" (1:12) incredible intro--to the album, band, sound, and style. I love the total unpredictability of the chord progression here. (5/5)

2. "The River" (4:49) piano, xylophone, drums and bass (which are heavy during the heavy sections, light and delicate during the more sparsely populated ones) backing/supporting Lynsey's powerful vocal: the one constant that keeps everything glued and flowing together (which is really cool: to have everything instrumental shifting and morphing while the vocal remains steadfast and constant). I call this music prog metal. Of the highest caliber. (9.3333/10)

3. "The Sinking Question" (3:55) With this heavy yet sprawling and, at times, tension-filled song I feel as if Tori Amos or Mary Chapin Carpenter had chosen metal as their musical medium. Awesome! (9/10)

4. "The Thing With Feathers" (1:30) a cool all-vocal choral arrangement that includes their guest vocalists (including Paige and Mathilda--who would become part of Lynsey's ESPERA trio of background-singers-for-hire). (4.5/5)

5. "The Baptism" (5:22) here Lynsey sings in a completely different range with a completely different style (one seems to effortlessly draw from some of Country-Western's most talented singers of recent years). The interplay between piano, drums, and bass on this highly-intricate and syncopated jazz-infused tune is a wonder to behold--as is Lynsey's vocal performance. The bass and drum sound is a bit too compressed for my tastes but I love the free-and-wild TORI AMOS-like sound allowed to Lynsey's piano. This is a song that just keeps getting better and better for me with each and every listen! (9.5/10)

6. The Downpour (5:08) "baby keyboard" sound opens this one (from Jonny, obviously) before piano and voice join in. There is a very engaging emotional TORI AMOS and ELIZABETH HEATON sound and feel to this as well a feeling like one of MARJANA SEMKINA deeply heart-felt songs. Again, Lynsey's vocal range is adapted to a completely different range and style for this one. Amazing! She is quickly becoming one of my new favorite vocalists in modern music! The "tribal" vocalese she turns to in that fourth minute is simply Earth-shattering. Miriam Stockley with some real deep emotion to share! (9.75/10)

Total Time 21:56

What a tremendous debut (despite its EP length). Let the world know: Exploring Birdsong is a force--and they will have to be reckoned with (hopefully) for a long time to come!

A/five stars; a masterpiece of eclectic, sophisticated, and chameleonic Prog Metal.

— First review of this album —

The trigger beyond the intriguing cover at was the presence of singer/keyboardist extraordinaire Lynsey Ward, whose named I had seen of the latest Lifesigns album Altitude. Nothing like connections to light up the lamp of discovery! This Liverpool band sets out with a 25-minute EP (a rare event for me as I like full albums) but this is a mammoth of immense proportions in terms of musicality and sheer audacity. The band is a trio with Jonny Knight on bass and keyboards as well as drummer Matt Harrison, supplying a modern take on a tried-and-true formula of exceptional prog music with female vocals.

The initial kick-off is a fiery "Pyre" of delight, as the magical voice sets its imprint immediately on the mind, a voice that knows how to sing like the wind, establishing her as a worthy microphone colleague together with such illustrious names as Kate Bush, Marie-Anne Helder, Lisa Fury, Rachel Cohen, Olivia Sparnenn, Heather Findlay, Julianne Regan, Christina Booth, Hayley Griffiths, Agnieszka Swita and so many more. The piece ebbs and flows with a magical sprinkling of melody and substance, like a swirling firestorm, searing deep into the spirit. Maintaining the surge with an elevated sense of movement, "The Way Down" is a brooding musical elevator where all the buttons are pressed, making for an eventful ride. Slightly claustrophobic and compressed into a tight mood at first, the doors abruptly open on a rousing chorus that twirls with endless passion. Lynsey hits and holds notes with flared precision. This is one cab you don't really want to get out of, as the voice wails uncontrollably. Change of pace with the glowing beauty of "Bear the Weight", suggesting a piano driven voice that swoops passionately, waiting for a rippled organ to add drama, as well as raising the intensity level to frantic levels. The band members obviously master tempo and power with professional poise, mixing it up with some complex roller coaster rhythmic acrobatics. Very impressive indeed. "Ever the Optimist" is certainly my personal credo, so I am automatically betrothed to their plan. Lynsey can travel the octaves here, swooping like a sparrow when needed, free as a birdsong (pun intended). The bass rotates nicely within the layered keyboards and the punchy drums, with contrasts and flows. The finale gets quite slippery and synthesized, a relentless aural assault once again, accessible but very clever progressive rock, firmly anchored in profound melodic expanse. The finale feels very familiar, remindful of another prog song I cannot elucidate after hours of scouring my tired brain. "No Longer We Lie" epitomizes the sheer quality at hand, advancing insistent chorus and verse, and delivering technical mastery of simple sounds that fit perfectly. The haunting and melancholic outro seals the deal for me.

Time to hunt down their previous "avian" debut, the thematically titled "The Thing with Feathers", before I lose my mind and start looking for that bass-heavy disco classic "Fly Robin Fly" (Silver Convention, I believe).

4.5 Finding tweets