Birdeatsbaby is an English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band from

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, 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 metal,

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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,

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, obsession and

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. According to group members, their influences include Chopin,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

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and

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

. 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 Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

and

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...

. 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

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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

Youtube channel YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San B ...

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

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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's BBC Introducing 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 The Secret Garden Party, often colloquially shortened to the SGP, is an independent music festival, arts and music festival held in Abbots Ripton, England. The location is on part of the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse and has its own lakes, river ...

. 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. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

program BBC Introducing with 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 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 publis ...

'', 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 Coppelius is a German band from Berlin that plays Heavy metal music, metal on Drum kit, drums, double bass, cello, and clarinet. The band's name is taken from E.T.A. Hoffmann's short story "Der Sandmann". Their logo consists of a top hat with th ...

on tour in Germany. In November, the band began a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

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 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 Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

platform

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...

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 is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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 Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

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 vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compos ...

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) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's All Songs Considered Listener Poll of the top 100 albums of 2016. In December 2016, Fitzgerald was interviewed by

Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. The publication began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The print magazine's reported circulation is 275,000 as of 2023. ...

, where she spoke about how her struggle with depression informed her writing of the album and her use of music as a

coping mechanism Coping refers to conscious or unconscious strategies used to reduce and manage unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviors and can be individual or social. To cope is to deal with struggles and difficulties in life. I ...

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 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...

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 as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter ( ; January 1888 or 1889 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the ...

and

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

, 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 John Fryer may refer to: *John Fryer (physician, died 1563), English physician, humanist and early reformer *John Fryer (physician, died 1672), English physician *John Fryer (travel writer) (1650–1733), British travel-writer and doctor *Sir John ...

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 The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

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 instrument ...

, while relying less on the piano. The album featured more hallmarks of

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

- chordal dissonance,

complex time signatures Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

, 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 Alternative rock groups from Brighton and Hove