Bird - Kazimier, Liverpool, 23/5/2014

  by Harry Sherriff

published: 6 / 6 / 2014

intro

Harry Sherriff watches promising post-rockers Bird play their launch show to promote their four years-in-the-making debut album at the Kazimier in Liverpool

I love going the Kazimier in Liverpool. It’s my favourite venue in the City. It’s a bit seedy, it’s a bit glam-tacky but it’s never not fun, even when there’s a sonic car crash, which there have been many a night. It’s still a great venue and space to witness an event. On arrival Sankofa were finishing off their set doing a four-minute song with a three-minute faux-improvisational jam outro. All the lads were great on their instruments, but it felt messy like they were still in the practice room. The drums felt out with everything, which I’m well aware could mean the drums were the only thing in time. Before the outro however everything sounded pleasant and I liked frontman Stephen Wall's vocals. On the evidence of the one song, I look forward to seeing them again soon. Bill Ryder-Jones performed a short, impressive set that amazingly opened with 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' and closed with 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'; I don’t know how that worked but it did. The former was dedicated to Deltasonic founded Alan Willis who had sadly passed away a week earlier. Bill Ryder-Jones also showcased some tracks from his much-anticipated third album. 'Happenings' sounded very promising. and 'Seabirds' was in the gentle vein as such 'Bad Wind' tracks as 'There’s A World Between Us' or 'By Morning I'. Sadly on this occasion it was hard to hear such a track over a rude, chatty crowd. I’ve heard some demos off the new album currently titled 'Andalucía', and everything I’ve heard is sounding colossal. By my count it’s taken quartet Bird around four years to get their debut album out, and in my opinion that’s a good sign. There is nothing worse than a six-month-old band throwing around their debut album. The first thing you notice about Bird is how great lead singer Adele Emmas’ vocals are. Everything from tonight’s set-list felt like it complimented the vocals, which made for a good change. So many vocalists are drowned out. I do think Bird are guilty of sounding samey after five or so tracks in, but none of the tracks were bad. They were just not selling the album 'My Fear and Me' to me. The last song luckily felt like the highlight of the set, and as it’s due to be their next single it bodes well. There’s a buzz around Liverpool about Bird, and why not? They’re different, have a great vocalist and are another example of a hard working talented band standing out from a sea of mediocrity. They’ve played everywhere the last couple of years, from tiny venues to the Cathedral at Sound City. They clearly have some clout behind them and more exciting dates have just been announced on their tour. It’s a good time to be Bird. Let’s hope they make the most of it.

Also at Kazimier, Liverpool

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