On new single ‘Bird Watching Accident’, indie outfit Family Art Club tackle melancholy with a deep sense of optimism. Realising on indie label Private Records, ‘Bird Watching Accident’ is the first flavour of their forthcoming EP ‘Pigeons When I’m King’, the follow up to their well received debut ‘Friends From Home’. 

Lyrically rooted in reflection, the group look backwards and forwards, sharing experiences where they’d find a sense of comfort and familiarity in the darker places. Be it family arguments, reeling off examples of the sadness in the world; even dying whilst gazing at birds through binoculars. Evan Usher sets out to stop all of these ‘when he is king’. Even if just slightly optimistic, it’s a deeply comforting way to look at England in 2026. 

It’s laden with midwestern emo guitars, anthemic trumpet riffs and a vocal that effortlessly oscillates between spoken word and singing. The drums burst into the track with raucous cymbals that soon disappear just with all the urgency in which they arrive. It’s that coming and going that ultimately defines this song. As the two guitars seemingly converse, and the song ebbs and flows, it all points towards the internal monologue that Evan Usher sings about, as he laments what he describes as a ‘big transition period in (his) life’. This all bubbles away leading towards an explosion of sound to round the song off, with a liberating trumpet that seems to lift the sound to a bright place, alleviating the pressure of previously discussed distress. 

The sound is a nuanced mix of lots of music from over the last few years. A vocal you may liken to ‘Neutral Milk Hotel’, or ‘Bright Eyes’, with ‘American Football’ guitars, and a very current full band sound you may hear in ‘Westside Cowboy’. But this is not simply imitative, it’s deeply original; and buried within its nostalgic tones is what seems to be the future of the Leeds music scene. This will become clear when this song echoes around the likes of Hyde Park Book club on their forthcoming UK tour, which will consolidate Family Art Clubs stake in the ever evolving indie world.

Review from Alex Henderson – @alexander.hendersonn