Review Summary: A house full of cracks and hopes
If we use the image of a house as a metaphor for any human relationship, then on their debut album, the Liverpool trio
Exploring Birdsong have constructed an entire residential block out of emotional trials, hopes, and cracks in the foundation. Although the band formed nearly a decade ago,
Every House We Built marks a turning point for vocalist Lynsey Ward, bassist and keyboardist Jonny Knight, and drummer Matt Harrison. Here, they have abandoned early conceptual storylines in favor of greater transparency and emotional sincerity. The record leaves room for everything: the fragility of family ties, romantic traps, relentless anxiety, and quiet joy, alongside a compelling demonstration of the musicians' flawless chemistry.
The musical fabric of the album deserves separate mention and professional admiration, as the band stubbornly ignores any attempts to corral them into neat genre boxes. Curiously, with the complete absence of a guitarist, Exploring Birdsong operates at the intersection of complex art rock, progressive metal, and pop music, creating a unique hybrid built on a melodic foundation, catchy hooks, and an absorbing atmosphere. The entire structure of the album is erected on a solid foundation of boundless soundscapes, where visions of the future and memories of the past intertwine whimsically.
The opening track,
Archipelago, showcases the band’s entire palette in miniature: from the naked intimacy of the grand piano to a massive sonic canvas. This composition brilliantly sets the mood, raising questions and building anticipation. It gives way to the rock-solid track
42, where the piano line yields to a conversational interplay and heavy drum hits that underscore motifs of conspiracy and paranoia. They are followed by the captivating
Romanticise, the pulsing
Spy in the House of Love with its "buzzing" synthesizers, and the soaring, nuance-filled
Arrhythmia – a surprisingly warm composition that retains its inner light even under the onslaught of harsh instrumentation.
The album's dynamics never flag for a minute, constantly tossing the listener from side to side. Right after the utterly charming
I_You, the band plunges into a dark, nearly moonless atmosphere on what is perhaps the heaviest track on the disc:
The Warning, enriched by a stunning choir and mounting drama. With crushing power, it is followed by
You Like It Best When It Hurts, filled with barely contained rebellion and uncompromising energy, where explosive prog rock harmonizes perfectly with pop melodies. The musicians easily dissolve genre boundaries, proving that strict genre labels have long lost their relevance today.
The sincere ballad
Cartography is built almost exclusively on Ward’s vocals accompanied by strings, before giving way to the title track. The latter unfolds as a leisurely dialogue that builds into a true explosion of musical light with a mesmerizing melody. The closing track,
Meadowlands – named after the street where Knight used to live – leaves behind not ashes, but hope. This seven-minute composition, with its swelling melody and concluding piano epilogue, represents an ambitious yet emotionally mature and beautiful work that wide-openly throws the doors to the band’s bright and unpredictable future.
Remarkably, Exploring Birdsong’s creative openness is not limited to their arrangements alone, nor is it plagued by ego, allowing them to eagerly welcome talented like-minded collaborators into their circle to add textural depth to the sound. The album's very name was born of pure coincidence – a modest, abandoned shack by the road spotted by Harrison perfectly captures the essence of the record: it is a house, albeit old, empty, or in need of repair, but packed to the brim with the most important memories.
