Birdie

Matching classic indie pop songcraft with finely burnished arrangements and heartwarming vocals, London's Birdie -- a duo comprised of indie pop pioneer Debsey Wykes of <a href="spotify:artist:46mHImQWI9FD9f6QFH6whv">Dolly Mixture</a> and Martin Kelly of <a href="spotify:artist:2JoNju6JDrSYQSi8gwQkze">East Village</a> -- made a splash with two albums issued in the late '90s (Some Dusty and Triple Echo) and have since only rarely popped out of semi-retirement to play the occasional show or issue a song or two.

Wykes had been a member of the legendary <a href="spotify:artist:46mHImQWI9FD9f6QFH6whv">Dolly Mixture</a> in the early '80s and Martin Kelly was in <a href="spotify:artist:2JoNju6JDrSYQSi8gwQkze">East Village</a>, a well-respected jangle pop group who operated near the end of the decade and fizzled out in the early '90s. The pair met while serving as touring members of <a href="spotify:artist:1N2FgBLehaq77UEdJhCt7f">Saint Etienne</a> in 1994. Thy soon discovered a mutual love of <a href="spotify:artist:35y7CZMg7jbG8Q96JY7dyC">Burt Bacharach</a>, '60s sunshine pop, and soft rock, and when the <a href="spotify:artist:1N2FgBLehaq77UEdJhCt7f">Saint Etienne</a> tour ended, they began doing some home recording. The results proved promising enough that the pair headed into a studio to record two songs, “Spiral Staircase” and “Port Sunlight.” <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Summershine+Records%22">Summershine Records</a> heard them and jumped at the chance to release a single in 1997. From there, the pair was given the chance to record a full-length album on London's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22it+Records%22">it Records</a>. They laid down a set of relaxed, warm, and sunny pop songs with the help of producer Brian O'Shaughnessy, string arranger <a href="spotify:artist:4dMtztditoMOlTzkFdqWRk">Sean O'Hagen</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:4C6mJ6VZtsBnwzGKZmmzeF">High Llamas</a>, and drummer Wildcat Will. Kelly handled all the guitars, while Wykes contributed bass, a wide variety of keyboards, and all the lead and harmony vocals. The resulting album, Some Dusty, was issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22it%22">it</a> in the U.K., <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elefant%22">Elefant</a> in Spain, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Minty+Fresh%22">Minty Fresh</a> in Japan, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Kindercore%22">Kindercore</a> in North America. After its release, the duo split time between their duties with <a href="spotify:artist:1N2FgBLehaq77UEdJhCt7f">Saint Etienne</a> and making a second record. Working with O'Shaughnessy again, they recruited a stellar group of sidemen to help out, including drummer Jon Chandler (<a href="spotify:artist:7KpNT4Gwg0hjdGL4kr9K3d">Absentee</a>), bassist Will Pepper (<a href="spotify:artist:1OEtCjGZfF9ejmkXAtBLWN">Thee Hypnotics</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0zXDICT0lBBvcKPgfPyR7l">Epic Soundtracks</a>), and keyboardist Sean Read (<a href="spotify:artist:7aK3HPZsL7YboqDz7EB2uy">Denim</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2LW0U8fi2zAOnexzpp6nfp">Rockingbirds</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6cLEWhEKQl6nAvgr60M7zC">Beth Orton</a>, and many more). They came up with a sound that was fractionally more refined and musically complex than their debut while still delivering the same comforting glow. The album, titled Triple Echo, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22it%22">it</a>, along with Germany's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Apricot%22">Apricot</a> label, in 2001. The duo wound down their time as Birdie soon after, with commitments to <a href="spotify:artist:1N2FgBLehaq77UEdJhCt7f">Saint Etienne</a> and family taking center stage. A collection of singles and stray tracks titled Reverb Deluxe was issued in 2002, and it wasn't until 2018 that the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Where+It%27s+at+Is+Where+You+Are%22">Where It's at Is Where You Are</a> label issued a single, "Tomorrow"/"Bowling Green Saturday." It proved to be a mere blip on the radar and the band settled back into semi-retirement. In 2024, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Slumberland%22">Slumberland</a> became the fifth label to issue Some Dusty when they made a vinyl edition of the album available in middle of 2024. It featured a green cover this time and an amended running order that was more in line with what the duo originally intended. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi