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Birdfeeder. Pic: Elliott Moyse

LIVE: Birdfeeder – The Lanes, Bristol, 18/01/2025

Looking up ‘Birdfeeder live’ on YouTube will lead you down a rabbit hole of hours of engrossing footage. Bugger all help in researching this article, sadly, but an enjoyable time nonetheless.

One day soon, though, the tables may well turn, and twitchers everywhere wil find themselves unexpectedly faced with videos of gloriously heavy psych rock, played in dark, chaotic rooms. Worth tweeting about, it will be.

Formed in late 2021, Bristol’s Birdfeeder are developing a growing reputation. Following a similar dark-psych path to Brighton’s Wytches and Sheffield’s Femur, the five-piece have shown themselves to be creative, accomplished and cathartic in equal parts.

Comprising singer Lucas Richard, guitarists Tom Holman and Jack Wojtowycz, bassist Ed Thompsn, and drummer Max Dunstone, today saw the band finally release their debut EP, Born of Dismay, and a solid crowd has gathered for tonight’s release show at The Lanes to mark the occasion.

They waste no time making an impression. Opener ‘Emma’ is ferocious, with a beautiful stop-start doom-metal riff. The band’s look, with the predominance of long hair, moustaches and tight dark clothes, brings to mind early Black Sabbath, and Birdfeeder certainly bring elements of that band’s sound to their work.


There is plenty about Birdfeeder that makes them stand out from the flock, though. Holman and Wojtowycz inject some quirky, creepy atmospheric sounds into their guitar work that meld beautifully with the doomy riffs, notably on ‘Clunk’, probably the pick of the songs from the EP.

Tonight’s set skirts the ‘chaos’ line perfectly – raw enough to make it exciting, but clean enough to mean that you can hear all the nuances to the sound. Admittedly, something goes a little awry in the sound for a few songs, resulting in Richard’s voice – likely already overtaxed by a recent bout with the flu – disappearing almost completely from the mix, particularly on ‘Dishevelled’.

The overall performance, though, is just tremendous. Everywhere you look on the stage, something is going on – a seemingly-improvised solo here, some effects buttons being twiddled over there, and even the odd drum solo or two. Wow, it really does feel like the seventies now.


They’re definitely not all noise, though. Tonight’s penultimate song, ‘The Host’, is an aching, melancholy song of regret that would grace a rock album from any genre. The enduring feeling, though, is that this band is at their best when they are pushing the noise as hard as possible, and set-closer ‘Waning’ is a spectacular example, a wall of sheer noise that leaves the audience with their ears ringing as they roll out of the door.

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Birdfeeder. Pic: Elliott Moyse

Either way, though, it is clear that this is a band with tremendous talent, already making music that is right up there with the very best bands in this quite challenging genre. Definitely one worth chirping about.

Birdfeeder play in their hometown again next weekend. In possibly the most Bristol event ever, they will play Bristol Birdfest at Moor Beer, alongside Birdman Cult, Bigbyrd, and Pigeon Wigs, with BullyByrdz on the DJ decks. 20% of profits go to the RSPB. Early-bird tickets, naturally, flew out the door. If you’re in the area, you should definitely wing your way down there.

Bristol Birdfest

God is in the TV is an online music and culture fanzine founded in Cardiff by the editor Bill Cummings in 2003. GIITTV Bill has developed the site with the aid of a team of sub-editors and writers from across Britain, covering a wide range of music from unsigned and independent artists to major releases.