MOURNING BIRDS
Mourning Birds' album release by Mourning Birds
Tracks: 'Exile', 'Surrender', 'Breathe', 'Sunday', 'Belinda', 'Kill What You Want', 'I'm Sick', 'Oh Yeh!', 'Eve Of The Isle', 'Come Back', 'The Last Thing (I Need)', 'Down', 'Leave Me Alone' + extra exclusive songs for Japan.
Producer : Rhys Downing
Words/Music : Mitchell/Gilder/Williams
Mourning Birds: Passionate. Hard working, hard playing and hard smoking.
Their debut body of work is a mighty montage veering between “what the heck?”; blues explosions, garage rock anthems, furious riffs, menacing bass lines, beats of madness and primal howls.
Over a third of the tracks have been made public as videos, streams or downloads. Every single one of these was a featured song of the day/week/month with multi radio play support.
Jimmy Gilder (guitar/vocals), Sam Mitchell (drums/vocals) and Bill Williams (bass guitar) might be doing something right. In Summer 2014 they signed with the notoriously reputable P-Vine Records, recorded with producer and mentor, Rhys Downing, at Foel Studios in Wales. In their own words, they “Smashed it out in a week” then released the album in Japan. An album to be discovered. Reactions so far are that Mourning Birds are the real, classic potential, deal. Their LP is available as a digital download, The band are currently writing another LP.
Band Biography
Fuelled by fury from the ennui of Medway (England) life, this gang, in their own words, “stumbled together” at the of 2012, just after the world, allegedly, ended, and started writing and rehearsing together. By Summer 2013 Sam Mitchell (drums/vocals), Bill Williams (bass guitar) and Jimmy Gilder (guitar/vocals) were entertaining passengers, busking White Stripes songs on trains. At the end of the year they were a real band who introduced themselves publicly with 'Oh Yeh!', 105 seconds of garage-rock madness. It was released on independent label, The Preservation Society Presents - with extra track 'Gutter Rats' - as their debut single.
They'd won at least a coachful's worth of fans, if the December launch gig at Camden Monarch was anything to go by.
Mourning Birds began 2014 by recording (again with Rhys Downing who has also worked with The Subways and Pete Doherty). His production brings out the “festival main stage” potential in their dynamic sound. That Spring, 'Eve Of The Isle' was released. Accompanied with the 70s rock fest tinted 'Town On Fire') it ignited more awesome reactions including Radio 1 Punk Show, 6Music, BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio and independent radio plays. It was a public vote winner at Tom Robinson's Freshnet and Track Of The Day at various sites.
The Bowie-esque video (which was limited to a thousand YouTube views) featured the lads in drag around Medway on a Saturday night. "Like The Cure on a date night with Nirvana" (Little Indie Blogs). "I hear Nirvana, I see Nicky Wire" (Music Scenes) and brought them more attention.
Developing with every gig (no two, the same), they are in the vanguard of a British rock resurgence. That Summer, reputation had won festival slots and shows with Slaves and Snow Patrol/Idlewild supergroup; Little Matador. They not only had new admirers but also confirmed a deal with P-Vine Record label in Japan. Much of the Autumn was spent writing new material and recording with Rhys Downing at Foel Studios in Wales.
Then winter 2014's third upload - 'Breathe', “A powerful eruption of grungy energy.” (GigSlutz) - won more praise, BBC Introducing / Amazing Radio Rock Show, independent plays and more tracks of the day/week. The positive reactions continue into 2015 with the free download of 'Exile' and video for 'Leave Me Alone' earning the same.
Summer/Autumn 2015; More festival appearances. A radio play of the track 'Kill What You Want' from the album earning them the offer of a show at Mile End Stadium's #SoccerSixFest and a show with Towers Of London. Mostly they took time to create 2016.