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Birdeatsbaby is an English
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...
band from Brighton, United Kingdom, formed in 2008. At their start, the band's music was considered to be within the  dark cabaret genre, but later began to incorporate aspects of  heavy metalklezmer and other musical styles. Their music is noted for its orchestral elements, complex rhythms and exotic instrumentation, with lyrics referencing themes such as religion,  alienation
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
, obsession and 
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
. According to group members, their influences include Chopin, Mozart,
Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
,
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
and Nick Cave. Since the release of their 2016 album '' Tanta Furia'', their influences have also come from progressive metal artists such as 
Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
and Opeth. Birdeatsbaby has toured throughout the UK, North America and Europe. As of 2020, they have released five studio albums and 20 EPs and singles. The band has previously released music through their own label, Dead Round Eyes Records, and since 2018 have been under the label Dr Music Records.


History


2008–2010: Formation and ''Here She Comes-a-Tumblin

Mishkin Fitzgerald has said that the name “Birdeatsbaby” came from a "lucid nightmare" she had during a particularly long bout of
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
in her teens. Fitzgerald, a classically trained pianist, met and became friends with Garry Mitchell while at University in Brighton. The two formed a creative partnership and would go on to form Birdeatsbaby, along with Keely McDonald, Ella Stirney and Philippa Bloomfield. Fitzgerald has stated that the band’s first gig took place in 2006. Their first EP, ''China Doll'', was released on January 1, 2008. Beginning on April 9, 2008, the band performed at the Surface Unsigned Festival, where they eventually reached the semi-finals. In promotion of their then upcoming debut album '' Here She Comes-a-Tumblin''', the band published their first music video, for their song "The Trouble", to their official
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on April 1, 2009. The full album was released on June 1 of that year. In June and July of that year, the band went on their first tour. Performing with Brighton-based
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...
Mister Joe Black, tour stops included the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. In July 2010, Ella Stirney left Birdeatsbaby to focus on a career as a music teacher. Instead of recruiting another cellist, the band decided to remain a quartet. Their next EP, '' Bigger Teeth'', was released in October of that year, followed by a short tour with fellow Brighton-based duo Bitter Ruin, again in the UK and parts of Europe. The track "Enemies Like Me" from ''Bigger Teeth'' was featured on
Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...
's
BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, ...
Mixtape in November 2010.


2011–2012: ''Feast Of Hammers''

In January 2011, drummer Philippa Bloomfield left the band to pursue a full-time career in film, and was replaced by Charlie Reith-Pert. In February, the band embarked on their first American tour, again performing with Mister Joe Black, as well as with the New York-based band This Way To The Egress. While in the United States, the band worked with producer Jason Rubal at his studio, Seventh Wave, in Pennsylvania to record a new album, entitled '' Feast of Hammers''. In July 2011, the band played at the Secret Garden Party. On January 16, 2012, the band was featured on the
BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
program
BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, ...
with
Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...
. In October 2011 and February 2012, the band released music videos for two singles from the upcoming album on their Youtube channel; the title track "Feast of Hammers" and "Incitatus", respectively. The full album was released on February 20, 2012.
Simon Price Simon Price (born 25 September 1967) is a British music journalist and author. He is known for his weekly review section in ''The Independent on Sunday'' and his book ''Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers)''. Career Writer Pric ...
reviewed the album for ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', and also gave it honorable mention in his review of "The best music of 2012". The band experienced another change in personnel as it was announced in April 2012 that Reith-Pert had left the band for a trip around the world, his collegiate studies being completed. On May 8 it was announced that percussionist Katha Rothe would be joining the band for the ''Feast of Hammers'' tour, with dates in the UK, Europe, and the USA. On May 20, the band again released a music video for the third single from the album, "Anchor", with a video for "The Sailor's Wife" following on July 16.


2013–2014: ''The Bullet Within''

On June 5 2013, it was announced violinist Keely McDonald was leaving Birdeatsbaby, to be replaced by Tessa Gilles. A new single and accompanying music video, "Ghosts", from the band's then forthcoming new album, were released in October 2013. The band resumed touring, opening for ASP in Germany. They then flew to Rome to open for the Italian rock band Belladonna, and later that year supported Coppelius on tour in Germany. In November, the band began a Kickstarter crowdfunding effort to support their new album '' The Bullet Within''. 2014 saw Birdeatsbaby once again in the studio, recording ''The Bullet Within''. Forbes Coleman, who had previously worked on Fitzgerald's 2013 solo album ''Present Company'', had now joined the band full-time as percussionist, technical resource and producer, and Hana Maria had replaced Tessa Gilles on violin and backing vocals. The Kickstarter campaign all-or-nothing amount was set at £10,000; the final total brought in was just over £11,000. It was widely supported by their devoted fan base (known as "The Flock").
Melora Creager Melora Creager (born March 25, 1966) is an American cello, cellist, singer-songwriter, performing artist and founder of the rock band Rasputina (band), Rasputina. Early life, beginnings and Rasputina Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, M ...
from Rasputina recorded cello on the track "Into The Black". Gabby Young (formerly of Other Animals) sang on the track "Spiders", and also appeared in the music video for the song, which was directed by former Birdeatsbaby drummer Philippa Bloomfield. The album was released on Jul 14, 2014. Steven Gullotta of ''BrutalResonance.com'' called it "dark, gorgeous, and mature," and, "their best album to date." Much of 2014 was spent on tour in support of the ''Bullet'' record; in April the band toured in Denmark with Geoff Berner. In October, the track "Tenterhooks" was included on R2 Magazine's compilation CD, Un-Herd Volume 47.


2015–2016: Patreon and ''Tanta Furia''

In lieu of another Kickstarter project, Birdeatsbaby joined the crowdfunding platform
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...
in July 2015 in order to provide more stable funding for the band's work. In October, to promote their Patreon and upcoming tours, the band released an hour long documentary video, titled "Birdeatsbaby - The Documentary", originally published only for their Patrons, and later made widely available on Youtube, featuring in-depth interviews with each member of the band. The band continued to produce Patreon-exclusive content, including a livestream performance of their entire catalogue from the studio. They also continued to write for their next album while on tour, making stops in the UK, Europe, the Eastern United States, and
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
. The new album, '' Tanta Furia'', was released on November 7, 2016. The title,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
for "so much fury", was intended as a nod to Birdeatsbaby's devoted Mexican fanbase. The record was also the first from the band to have a
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
release. ''Tanta Furia'' was seen as a step away from the group's cabaret-style roots, toward a heavier, more punk and metal inspired tone, but still featuring much of the orchestration and classical elements on display in their previous records. The band also began to expand their instrumentation, with Fitzgerald playing accordion on the title track, as well as contributions from Brighton-based
Gospel choir Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
group The Dulcetones. The Dulcetones also appeared in the band's official music video for the track "Mary". The final track on the record, "Eulogy", Jez Rowden of ''The Progressive Aspect'' wrote, was the "magical conclusion of a stunningly good album". ''Tanta Furia'' came in at number 67 on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's
All Songs Considered ''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on ...
Listener Poll of the top 100 albums of 2016. In December 2016, Fitzgerald was interviewed by Psychology Today, where she spoke about how her struggle with depression informed her writing of the album and her use of music as a coping mechanism.


2018–2019: ''Claws'' and ''The World Conspires''

In September 2018, the band put out a their single "Better Man", along with an accompanying music video which Fitzgerald described as "
Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, rack ...
themed". In an interview, Fitzgerald said of the song, "it's a feminist anthem about having to take on both genders if you’re a woman in this world and you’re in an environment where you have to survive." In December 2018, Birdeatsbaby released ''Claws (A Collection of Covers)'', a compilation of songs recorded from 2015-2018, which, as the title suggests, contains covers from a number of diverse artists, including
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, Lead Belly and
My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...
, among others. The album was released as a free download as a Christmas gift to their fans. Shortly after Coleman's departure from Birdeatsbaby to concentrate on his production career at AudioBeach Studios, the band brought in drummer Pablo Paracchino to begin work on their next album. Having met Fitzgerald and Maria in Los Angeles through a mutual friend, John Fryer joined the project as producer. ''The World Conspires'', the band's fifth studio album, and the longest yet, with 15 tracks totaling 67 minutes, was released on October 18, 2019, under the label Dr. Music Records. The record saw the band again expand their repertoire of instruments, including the addition of harp,
hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vi ...
, flute,
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
, clarinet and
phonofiddle A phonofiddle is a class of stringed musical instruments that are played with a bow and use a phonograph type reproducer as a voice-box. The sound producing diaphragm may be a metal cone as in the Stroh violin or a mica sheet as in the instruments ...
, while relying less on the piano. The album featured more hallmarks of
progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
- chordal dissonance, complex time signatures, unorthodox harmonies - than any of the band's previous works. Also in evidence were more synthesized keyboards, atonal screaming and related elements of progressive rock. The title track, a duo with Fitzgerald, also saw Mitchell's first foray into vocal performance. ''Prog'' magazine included the album track "Lady Grey" on the CD of 10 best new progressive tracks in their November 2019 issue.


Band members

Current members Former members * Ella Stirney - Cello, vocals (2008 - 2010) * Philippa Bloomfield - Drums (2008 - 2011) * Charlie Reith-Pert - Drums (2011 - 2012) * Keely McDonald - Violin, vocals (2008 - 2012) * Katha Rothe - Drums (2012 - 2013) * Tessa Gilles - Violin, backing vocals (2012 - 2013) * Forbes Coleman - Drums (2013 - 2018) * Pablo Paracchino - Drums (2018 - 2019)


Timeline


Discography

Studio Albums *'' Here She Comes-a-Tumblin''' (2009) *'' Feast of Hammers'' (2012) *'' The Bullet Within'' (2014) *'' Tanta Furia'' (2016) *''The World Conspires'' (2019) Live Albums *''Live in Prague'' (2016) *''Live in Hannover'' (2016) EPs and Singles *''China Doll EP'' (2009) *''What You Are'' (2009) *'' Bigger Teeth'' EP (2010) *''Through Ten Walls'' (2011) *''Feast of Hammers'' (2011) *''Incitatus'' (2011) *''Anchor'' (2012) *''The Bullet'' (2014) *''Tenterhooks'' (2014) *''Silence/My Arms Will Open Wide'' (2014) *''White Hearts'' (2015) *''Temple'' (2016) *''No Mirror/Baby Steps'' (2016) *''Sober (Tool cover)'' (2017) *''Better Man EP'' (2018) *''Twelve Steps EP'' (2018) *''Fortitude EP'' (2018) *''Painkiller'' (2019) *''Box of Razorblades'' (2019) Compilation albums *''Claws (A Collection of Covers)'' (2018)


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control English progressive rock groups Dark cabaret musicians Musical groups from Brighton and Hove