Antony Szmierek - Decoding Birdsong (Beak Yellow Vinyl)

Antony Szmierek – Decoding Birdsong is the second album from the Manchester-born poet, writer and producer, arriving only eighteen months after his acclaimed debut Service Station at the End of the Universe. Where that first record was largely a solo endeavour, this follow-up opens outward through collaboration while retaining the conversational detail, humour and emotional precision that have made Szmierek’s blend of spoken word and electronic music so distinctive.

Rooted in the electronic sounds that shaped him, Decoding Birdsong places razor-sharp lyricism inside expansive, immersive production. Contributors include Australia’s Pretty Girl, London group Los Bitchos, Bristol producer 1-800 GIRLS, Imogen and the Knife, Ellur and MAX RAD. The guests do not interrupt the album’s voice; instead, they widen its palette and reinforce its central interest in coincidence, belief, loneliness and the ways people search for meaning in small events.

Szmierek describes the album as an exploration of choosing to believe in something: coincidence treated almost as religion, luck made meaningful through attention and imagination. That idea runs through the unusual cast of images and locations found across the record—a heron, dice, a plummeting aircraft, Godzilla, an angling superstore and late-night television. Tracks including “Bookie’s Favourite”, “Godzilla Hotel”, “Flight Simulator” and “The First Five Minutes of Magnolia” turn apparently everyday references into vivid emotional scenes.

Following major festival appearances, repeat BBC airplay and sold-out shows across the UK and Europe, Szmierek sounds increasingly confident in the space between poetry, club music and indie songwriting. This independent-retailer edition is pressed on Beak Yellow coloured vinyl and includes a printed inner sleeve plus a double-sided insert. With thirteen tracks moving from “Chalk” and “The Heron” through to the title piece and “Aussie Gold Hunters”, Decoding Birdsong is an ambitious, collaborative step forward from one of Manchester’s most individual contemporary voices. The album also captures the scale and confidence of an artist moving decisively beyond his breakthrough moment.