Exploring Birdsong create their most vulnerable and personal piece of music yet on their full-length debut album Every House We Built.

Words by Tanita Hingerty | June 10, 2026

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Intricate musical arrangements with melodic and vocalised descriptions allow the band to take us on a musical journey of conceptual storytelling in an intimate exploration of human connection through an album about relationships, friendships, family, romance, heartbreak and the foundations that hold these things together. The band draw directly from lived experience, using the metaphor of houses to frame the emotions surrounding these topics.

The album starts harmoniously and soothingly; we can hear sounds of crashing thunder in the background, unnerving our senses before angelic vocals begin to sing.

Unique accompaniments highlight the prominent and dedicated vocals, where we can hear and feel the emotions as the songs start to become more urgent-sounding.

Lyrics talk about broken metaphors such as cracks in windows and doors, with underlying meanings related to feelings of heartbreak and betrayal. References to homes, spaces and foundations are recurring throughout, giving the album a sense of emotional architecture through the concept of connection and how that feels when it’s lost, confused or misunderstood.

The album is consistently emotionally intriguing and makes us really feel the words viscerally. Whisper vocals sound out indistinctly before instrumental bridges give an all-in, full-throttle approach. Hopeful sounds ring out alongside moving melodies, proving Exploring Birdsong can fluctuate their sound effortlessly and execute all musical styles authentically.

This album boasts some of the band’s heaviest-sounding songs to date and has a beautiful balance of delicacy and depth with harshness intertwined into all the right places. Surprising instruments can be heard sporadically, isolated and then layered beautifully. Clever voice-overs to emphasise frustration lead us into songs with devoted hidden meanings.

At times the singing lulls us into a state of comfort before we’re taken on another unexpected emphasis of thrashing sounds, challenging our feelings of emotional safety. Isolated vocals are operatic, powerful, haunting and strong, while guided alongside piano and drifting into opposing melodies with more instruments added in gradually, until fierce drumming takes the lead.

Orchestral sounds are blended into the mix and are consistently surprising with their own musical twist, looping back into heartfelt feel-good melodies.

Tinkling sounds lead to graphic vocals that paint a picture in our mind of how it feels to be lost and not have a safe space we can call home, while making us feel uprooted purposefully, evoking in us the importance of being grounded, even if not in its permanence.

Relaxing, muffled, held-back notes are played, alongside gentle vocals about the emphasis of the weight of the world, which becomes heavier within its sound but somehow reminds us of how everything will be okay. Vocals are screaming and meaningful; you can hear the pain behind them.

They leave us on a more upbeat yet meaningful sound as the album comes to a close.

The album seems to portray cleverly and musically the message that even the strongest foundations can reveal hidden cracks, but that everything can be rebuilt, with stronger foundations. They have crafted a debut album that is emotional, unpredictable, ambitious and unique.

Every House We Built drops June 26 via Long Branch Records.