No Bird Sing formerly known as Hyder Ali are a Hip Hop band with a differance. Innovative and artistic the groups music rejects the typical Hip Hop cliches with their own stamp on the genre.  The band consists of three members: Eric Blair (stage name of Joe Horton; vocals & keys), Robert Mulrennan (guitar & electronics) and Graham O’Brien (drums & electronics).

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Last year they released their debut self titled album, the 12 track album features Kristoff Kane, Bo Ramsey, Eyedea and Alicia Wiley.  The album is simply great,  with Joe Hortons deep delivery over great guitar and drum breaks, each memeber of the group simply compliment each other.  Unlike many albums the group have found a great formula with their hooks and intermittent instrumental breaks.  Tracks like ‘Devil Trombones‘ and ‘Land Mines‘ display the groups talents from the great drum and guitar work to Joe Hortons great wordplay which drag the listener in and takes them on a journey.

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With tracks ‘Legal Blood Money‘ and ‘Chopper‘ really displaying Joe Horton’s rapping skills, the way he changes tempo during the tracks keeps you entertained.  On all of the tracks his delivery is on point and based on the live perfomances of the group i’ve seen its clear to see and hear that he is a very underated rapper, not your typical rapper but this is not your typical hip hop group or album, this is a genre defying album, a medly of sounds throughout the record from rapped verses to spoken verses, from fast paced banging drums to a slow rhymth, each track switches it up.

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The great ‘Plastic Lines‘ which features Alicia Wiley making a great guest appearance as Joe Horton slowly raps with real emotion.  But the track that stands out the most to me would be the great ‘Sparrows‘ featuring the multi-talented Kristoff Kane, a more up tempo track compared to the rest of the album.  Both rappers take turn exchanging verses and their delivery and tempo make this song simply amazing.

Whilst the groups track are not as ‘catchy’ as previous work (Hyder Ali) this album is great, its really great to hear something so eclectic, so original and unique.  No Bird Sing have created a album that sadly will be slept on by most but treasured by the few lucky enough to own a copy.

More Info:

The album is available on Itunes also check out the bands myspace.  Photography by: Satori Innovations