Hailing proudly from Tunbridge Wells, this Kentish trio have been making noise together for five years. Initially bursting onto the scene with 2018’s ‘Social Potions’ EP, they made strides with their rowdy brand of punk music, set apart by infectious choruses and unflinching social commentary. A slurry of singles, including fan-favourites ‘Boot Fillers’ and ‘LOVE’, then ticked them through to the also impressive ‘Brainwash Machine Setting’ EP in 2020. Now, two years later and with the help of indie label Alcopop! Records, the Bird are back with a debut full-length in the form of ‘WE’.
The notion that music is often a means of meditation bleeds throughout this record from the very first track. ‘Guided Hesitation’ tackles the philosophical concepts presented in Yuval Noah Harari’s seminal ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’ which frontman Don Bird was reading at the time of writing the song. Essentially delivered in spoken word, this is a far from typical opener to a punk band’s first album – an early indication that Lady Bird might just have a bit more about them than their contemporaries.
A response to the question “what is you?” that’s posed in the album’s opener, ‘Individualism’ is a hope-fuelled anthem, promoting the value of preserving exactly what makes you, well… you. Moreover, this record stands as empirical evidence of what can be achieved when individualism is not only maintained, but nurtured and embraced. A band operating in the music industry is a microcosmic case study of the way that an entity exists within an established and rigid framework. For Lady Bird, the individual must navigate a system designed to predestine and compartmentalise. The crux is that Don Bird, Alex Deadman and Joe Walker are three individuals, embracing their individualism and uniting to create and flourish.
Proudly providing a voice for those feeling existentially challenged in the current socio-political climate, despite not strictly being a political band, Lady Bird don’t tiptoe around the subject matter of their sound. Lead single ‘Factory Fool’ is a brasher approach to the production-line nature of institutions. Backed by the turbulent undercurrent of Walker’s drumming and the raucous crashing from Bird and Deadman’s guitars, if any song was going to get fans hyped for this LP, it was this one.
A track that hits even harder is ‘Karma’. The playful nature of the guitar parts that sound as though they could’ve been plucked straight out of an early Arctic Monkeys album belies the overall tenacity of the track. As is so often the case throughout Lady Bird’s oeuvre, the bulk of the band’s character and identity is delivered through Bird’s lead vocals. Dripping with spite from start to finish, Bird rattles through tracks like the aforementioned ‘Karma’, ‘Bludsuckers’ and ‘Take Care’ with his unique fusion of spoken word and tuneful snarls to tremendous effect.
There are plenty of pleasant surprises on this record but none leave as lasting an impression as much as the vocal contributions of lead guitarist Alex Deadman. Initially, he takes lead vocals on the album’s second single ‘Infants’, proving that he is more than capable of going toe to toe with any punk vocalist on the scene at the moment. More significantly, however, he is responsible for the most striking moment of the record with the eponymous ‘WE’. Stripped back to just an acoustic guitar and his voice, this one-take reflection on Deadman’s personal love and loss is aptly summed up by the audible outpouring of emotion once the final chord rings out.
Therein lies the true brilliance of Lady Bird. Their willingness to push boundaries, both sonically and introspectively, testing their own emotions. While they may make all the noise and display all the aggression one might expect from a local garage punk band, they are far more than that. Authentic, raw and fundamentally brave enough to bare all, Lady Bird’s debut album is an unprecedentedly bold exploration of some of life’s most pertinent questions that succeeds on so many levels.
AARON JACKSON