Welcome to Track-By-Track, our new series where artists break down the intriguing backstories behind their songs! This week, London-based alt-pop trio Exploring Birdsong unpacks their ambitious and genre-bending debut album Every House We Built, due for release on June 26th via Long Branch Records.
On tracks such as the funk-inspired bass groover “42,” the nostalgic eighties synth-driven ballad “Spy in the House of Love,” the exceptionally catchy “Romanticise,” and the deceptively heavy, breakdown-laden “You Like It Best When It Hurts,” Exploring Birdsong leave no stone unturned when it comes to packing as many eclectic musical styles as possible into their deeply personal songs.
In an exclusive for Haus Of Cult/The Pretty Cult, Exploring Birdsong drummer Matt Harrison breaks down the meanings and backstories behind the twelve tracks that make up the band’s debut album Every House We Built. Read below...
"Archipelago"
Matt Harrison: “Archipelago” is one of many songs on Every House We Built that developed gradually over an extended period. For the most part, the song exists as it did when (vocalist) Lynsey [Ward] brought it to the table in late 2022, but time allowed us to tweak the finer details (plus some textural production elements from longtime friend Cameron Warren) and make it feel truly like an Exploring Birdsong song. If memory serves, even upon the first listen (when no other song had been written for the album), we knew this would be the opener.
"42"
Matt Harrison: It’s quite tricky knowing where to start with “42.” There are many layers to the ‘lore’ (for lack of a better phrase) surrounding it and its meanings, and it’s something that our fans have taken and run with (join our Discord for the full context!). As one of the last songs to be written for the record, it explores themes of paranoia, conspiracy theory, and confirmation bias through the eyes of a narrator who has become detached from reality. The song follows someone who continually finds meaning in seemingly unrelated events, convinced that recurring patterns and symbols are pointing towards an important truth or warning, yet never able to fully understand what they signify.
This is written partly from childhood experience. Make of that what you will!
"Romanticise"
Matt Harrison: “Romanticise” centers around a relationship defined by toxicity and emotional manipulation, told from the perspective of the person responsible for much of the damage. The lyrics capture a pattern of misplaced anger, resentment, and frustration directed towards a partner, while also revealing the various ways the narrator attempts to avoid accountability for their behaviour.
This was a song on the record that maybe had the shortest amount of time to ‘settle’, but with a lot of the songs we’ve written, the chorus became the centerpiece of the song from which the rest of the song was sculpted.
"Footprints"
Matt Harrison: Funnily enough, “Footprints” began life in 2022, during the same writing session that the earliest demo of ‘Archipelago’ was first brought to the table. This song existed only as a verse and chorus without lyrics before being set aside for almost two years. It wasn't until early 2024 that (Guitarist) Jonny [Knight] returned to the idea and began shaping it into something that resembled the final form the song took.
Despite its long gestation, we always believed the song had significant potential and deliberately resisted the urge to rush its development. The song explores grief, legacy, and the memories we inherit from loved ones. It focuses particularly on the experience of losing a family member before having the opportunity to truly know them, and the complex emotions that can follow.
"Arrhythmia"
Matt Harrison: Lynsey brought “Arrhythmia” to the table as close to completion as any song on the album felt, from a structural point of view. As with pretty much any song we’ve written though, the song has to go through a bit of a vetting process to feel properly like us, mainly because there was electric guitar on the initial demo!
One aspect of “Arrhythmia” that stood out for Lyns was the decision to retain elements of the original programmed drum parts in his final recording. For Lyns, it was a meaningful gesture that reflected the openness and trust we all have with each other, and demonstrates a willingness to embrace ideas regardless of who first introduced them.
"Spy In The House Of Love"
Matt Harrison: “Spy in the House of Love” takes its title from the novel of the same name, which Lyns discovered by chance during a particularly difficult period following a breakup. While the song itself shares little with the book’s narrative, the phrase resonated deeply, helping to organise and articulate emotions that had previously felt difficult to define. That connection became an important creative catalyst, providing both personal clarity and a focal point for the writing process.
Much of the song's character came into focus once the drum treatment and bass tones were finalised, transforming the track and energising everyone involved. We distinctly remember being on a call with Connor [Sweeney], our producer and essentially just shouting various enthusiastic expletives at him while he dialled in the bass and synth tones!
"I_You"
Matt Harrison: At its heart, “I_You” is a song about the experience of wishing that the people we care about could recognise their own value as clearly as we do, especially in a romantic sense. It’s probably the ‘happiest’ sounding song we’ve ever put out and, to us, really acts as a bit of a breather in the middle of an album that holds some emotional weight.
In the studio, during the drum recording process, we brought the cowbell as a bit of a joke, fully expecting not to use it. The partying going on in the control room when it was first tried out on a take, though, confirmed the contrary. The lesser-heard ‘fun’ side to Exploring Birdsong!
"The Warning"
Matt Harrison: “The Warning” was quite an unusual one to write because it felt a bit like acting, from a writing perspective. Lyrically, it explores an unhealthy relationship dynamic from the perspective of the dominant partner. The narrator can feel their partner pulling away and, instead of addressing it healthily and constructively, they double down on the idea that the other person needs the relationship more than they do. It's all about power and control, really. They're essentially saying, ‘You're nothing without me, so where else are you going to go?’
None of us really relate to this kind of relationship dynamic in our own lives, but it was interesting to step into those roles and imagine how someone like that might think.
"You Like It Best When It Hurts"
Matt Harrison: We've always been proud of how much ground Exploring Birdsong can cover musically, so this felt like the perfect opportunity to wear some of our heavier influences on our sleeves and see how far we could push things. The end result is "You Like It Best…” and probably the heaviest thing we've ever written.
Lyrically, it's centered around a type of person most have encountered at some point. Someone caught in a cycle of self-sabotage, self-destructive, self-pitying behaviour, whilst also not wanting to break said cycle. It’s an outpouring of the frustration of watching someone repeatedly make choices that hurt themselves and the people they say they care about.
"Cartography"
Matt Harrison: It would be amazing at some point to release the sheet music for the album as a whole, but particularly with “Cartography” in mind. There’s so much detail in Jonny’s string arrangement. Having it be able to be heard isolated would be quite a beautiful thing. It’s what elevates the song to how you hear it on the record, with the isolated, childlike loneliness we tried to convey in the atmosphere.
"Every House We Built"
Matt Harrison: “Every House We Built,” simply, is a song about heartbreak. It is hard to contextualise it in a way that provides any more clarity than the lyrics do themselves.
A few days before writing, ‘King Park’ by La Dispute had come up on my Spotify shuffle, and that visceral release and outpouring of emotion became something he wanted to channel. After finishing the initial demo of this song, that's when we decided what the album title should be. Something just felt right with that phrase. A key memory from the studio was having all of us do separate takes in the live room, just screaming the lyrics at the top of our lungs.
"Meadowlands"
Matt Harrison: Like ‘Archipelago’ opening the record, “Meadowlands” ended up being the last song to be written, which feels quite fitting in hindsight. We probably could have closed the album with ‘Every House We Built’, but emotionally it didn’t feel like the right place to leave things. We were also very deliberate about “Meadowlands” acting as a kind of summation. There are little musical and lyrical references dotted throughout the song that quietly nod back to earlier moments on the record. See if you can spot them!
Watch Exploring Birdsong's Live From The Cottage (Live Session) Below
STREAM/PURCHASE EVERY HOUSE WE BUILT BY EXPLORING BIRDSONG
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