When: 7.30pm on Saturday 8 March 2014
Where: The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LE

We’re delighted to welcome back Liverpool’s BIRD.

After releasing two EPs (one of which was produced by composer and ex The Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones) and continually touring the UK, BIRD have gained a large loyal following and garnered praise from all corners, including BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 6music – and have even been personally invited to play sessions for Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins/Bella Union). The Guardian, Metro, NYLON, NME and Channel 4 have all featured the band.

Support slots with the likes of Wild Beasts, Soley, King Charles, PINS, Poltergeist (Echo and The Bunnymen) and Stealing Sheep have cemented BIRD as a formidable live presence, and they were invited in 2013 to play at Festival Number 6, The Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City.

Now with new Liverpool label Baltic Records, launched in 2013 under ADA, and working closely with Seymour Stein (Warner), BIRD have been working with producer Darren Jones to create their debut album, titled My Fear and Me.

Retaining the atmosphere and dark heart of their early EPs, and combining this with melodic hooks, stark lyrical imagery and intensely-layered soundscapes, the band used instruments such as harp and theremin to add to their unique sound. With instruments recorded in a church and vocals recorded in darkness, BIRD have carefully honed this collection of songs to tell stories of the soul through the sounds within.

The Rain Song, the first single from their upcoming album, will be released on 24 February on Baltic Records.

Main support comes from Faitala. Formed during the summer of 2012, Faitala bring together cute, quirky pop thrown in with a few 8-bit sounds from time to time. Their music has been likened to We Were Evergreen and Metronomy – but make up your own mind. They’ve had a very busy 2013 playing live at Dot to Dot, Tramlines and Carefully Planned festivals as well as shows with Sweet Baboo and Jesca Hoop. Recently the band also did a live session on Marc Riley’s BBC 6 Music show.

Opening the show is Elizabeth Preston. Originally from Blackpool, Elizabeth takes a ‘beguiling, artistic approach’ to folk, creating loops of cello and vocals to sing and play to. Her music has been described as ‘a hypnotic eruption of stabbing cello, haunting melody and exuberant yelps… folk but not as you’ve ever heard it’.

Buy tickets now. Tickets are available from Common (no booking fee), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, Seetickets.com, WeGotTickets.com, Ticketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

Attend on: Facebook | Last.fm