The Wind-up Birds: Raw Times: The Early Songs

The Wind-up Birds: Raw Times: The Early Songs

(Shooting Tzars Records)

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The Wind-up Birds uncover Raw Times: The Early Songs, a compilation of rarities from the early days of the Leeds-based indie-rock outsiders. Andy Brown reviews…

The Wind-up Birds are a band that rarely indulge in nostalgia, having been a consistent and vital presence on the Leeds DIY scene since the early two-thousands. Yet as a fan there are few things as tantalising as a glimpse into a box of lost or obscure recordings. From Incesticide to Lipstick Traces, the B-sides and rarities comp has a long and storied history of illuminating a bands alternative timeline. Raw Times: The Early Songs has saved 24 tracks from languishing in a shoebox under the bed and offers up the kind of mixtape destined to stay firmly stuck inside your Walkman for the rest of the year.

The majority of the songs presented here originally emerged between 2004 and 2007; pulled from various EPs including My Life Was Ruined By The Wind-up Birds and Allergic To Pleasure. The titles alone hint at the bands well-earned reputation for a decent lyric. Paul ‘Kroyd’ Ackroyd has been rightly lauded as an accomplished wordsmith with everyone from James Smith of Yard Act to up-and-coming post-punks Volk Soup singing his praises. It’s just one factor that helps separate these perennial indie-rock outsiders from the herd.

As the title implies, these precious lost gems present the band in their raw, semi-primordial state. Cuts like Round Here, Long Term Sick and the brilliantly titled Bastard Required crackle and pop with practice room immediacy and ragged DIY energy. Of course, this being The Wind-up Birds, there’s so much more here than distorted guitars and youthful vigour (although you’ll get a hefty and satisfying dose of both). The lyrics burst with anger, wit and intelligence while the music is consistently hypnotic and tight as a goddamn drum.

It’s great when a band you know and love still has the ability to surprise you, and Raw Times is full of these little revelations. Sung by guitarist Mat Forrest, Glow is absolutely spine-tingling. An anthemic indie-rock swooner that is undoubtedly one of the finest tracks here. As an aside, if you haven’t already, you should definitely check out Forrest’s solo project The Pitch Drop Experiment.

Highlights are too frequent to mention, but my current favourites include the rumbling, open nerve drama of Escape From New Yorkshire (“Hold your breath and slip through the railings/ Run like mad from your recent failings”), the pertinent pop of The New Eighties (“Timeless ideals/ Now defeated/ It’s just the eighties being repeated”) and the increasingly intense excellence of I Went Flying (“And I’m dropping through the air/ No points for technique/ Maybe a handful for falling with style”). These are songs to turn up and spin around the room to, getting lost in the unfettered catharsis of it all.

While some of the tracks were previously compiled on a comp called Acting Thick For Money others are receiving their first ever airing, making this new offering an absolute treat for long-term obsessives and newcomers alike. What’s more, fellow Leeds-based acts Ben Siddall (The Lodger) and Racketball appear via a remix and a collaboration. Nice. Raw Times: The Early Songs is yet further evidence of The Wind-up Birds legendary status. The band all your favourite bands wish they were.

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You can find The Wind-up Birds on Instagram, Facebook and Bandcamp.

All words by Andy Brown. You can visit his author profile and read more of his reviews for Louder Than War HERE.