Summon the Birds flash out the shadows of the sky, spinning tales of fallen kings, dissected criminals, Arctic exploration, cloud riding and London rain. The canvas weaving these disparate threads together is the ornate musical setting in which the song-stories become an unflinching and expanding whole. Imagine latter-day Talk Talk picking the locks to Spoon’s basement as The Drones circle, restless...
The seeds of Blood Love were sown back in 2009, with song sketches massaged into shape in the band’s rehearsal room. Labyrinthine pieces like ‘The Anatomy Lesson’ – based on the famous painting by Rembrandt – nine-minute opus ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ and instrumental tracks ‘Tactile Hallucination’ and ‘Cloud Cars’ realise the reach of the band’s ambition. Bookended by singles ‘Funeral for a King’ and ‘London Tap Water’, this six-track epic is testament to how powerful music can become when story and song interweave.
"a slightly woozy, somewhat proggy, little bit folky sound... They’re not afraid to give a song room to breathe, to let the lyrics tell a story, to create an epic sound... worth checking out" – Half-Life Music
“a fine exponent of Brit-infused prog rock... Radiohead are a clear marker here... They create their own rich universe with narrative character and personality in abundance” – [sic] Magazine on single ‘London Tap Water’
Summon the Birds began in 2007, when singer-songwriter Jonathan Shaw and bassist/producer Peter Woodlands kicked up an idea for a record called 48, based on the iChing. Kris Arrowsmith joined on drums, with guitarist Tim Clarke seduced into the fray after the dissolution of instrumental shoegaze band Bury the Sound. 48 saw release in 2012, closely followed by single ‘Digger’ in 2013. In 2014, bassist Drew Corby replaced original member Peter Woodlands, and the recording of second album Blood Love began, bolstered by Paul Spurling on keyboards, Marlene Samson on backing vocals, and Adrian Perger on horns. Producer and engineer Tim Johnston (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Dandy Warhols, The Drones) oversaw the sessions and lent his golden ears to the mixes, and the album was mastered by John Ruberto (Courtney Barnett, The Drones, Electric Mary).
credits
released February 9, 2018
Jonathan Shaw – vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
Tim Clarke – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Paul Spurling – keyboards
Drew Corby – bass
Kris Arrowsmith – drums
Recorded by Tim Johnston at Studio 94
Except 'The Anatomy Lesson' recorded by Evan Lorden at Park Orchards Recording Studio
Mixed by Tim Johnston at Studio 94
Mastered by John Ruberto at Mastersound
Summon the Birds are a band from Melbourne, Australia playing expansive folk-rock music influenced by Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Talk Talk, The Drones and Spoon.
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