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Bands to Watch #163: LYREBIRDS

I clapped my hands together rather gleefully when I first stumbled upon LYREBIRDS last week. The Brighton band proved an instant hit with me and I knew straight away that I had no choice but to share them with TGTF readers. So here I tap upon my keyboard enthusiastically, mighty excited to tell you of one of my favourite discoveries of the year so far.

It would appear guitar gloom is the way forward this 2010, with the likes of TAPETHERADIO and Chapel Club (who LYREBIRDS recently supported) all embracing those stormy, brewing sounds. And yes, this Brighton five piece we introduce today are really, no different, taking on those big, bad tunes which provoke the same old ‘Joy Division’ and ‘Echo and the Bunneymen’ comparisons. But hey, when you possess that deep, dark vocal drawl, Curtis and co are truly inescapable in print.

Amid all this name-dropping, I may as well mention White Lies while I am at it, because it’s undeniable, LYREBIRDS’ sound is incredibly similar to that of the Ealing trios’. But this certainly isn’t a bad thing – ‘To Lose My Life’ was one of my highlights of 2009. And anyway, I can pretty much guarantee that future material will distinguish LYREBIRDS from such comparisons.

But going on what we do have – I can already hear this isn’t one big White Lies tribute. You only have to listen to the wonderfully psychedelic ‘Human Symphony’ to realise this. Starting off like a humble acoustic version of ‘Space Oddity’, an onset of crooked guitars and explosive, near operatic harmonies ensue, truly blowing the house down with epicness. Believe me, if you listen to one song today, listen to this track!!

But it’s not just me digging LYREBIRDS. The band recently sent their demos to the demigod that is Stephen Street (yeh, yeh, that one that helped someone called Morrissey once, and that pair, erm, Albarn n Coxon or something?), who, upon listen, agreed to produce the band’s first single ,’Closer’. So, they’ve got a thumbs up from me and they’ve got a thumbs up from Stephen (who, come on, has pretty good judgement when it comes to new music), so seriously, hit LYREBIRDS MySpace page now! You won’t regret it.