Fall Of The 49 / Life / Cinderella(Has Nothing On You!) / My Lady; In July / T-Shirt / Everynight / Sicamous / The Fine Art Of Ballet Dancing / A Few More Days (Live)

INVISIBLE HANDS MUSIC

A Canadian indie-rock four piece specialising in melancholic folk, Birds Of Wales have a sound that slots somewhere between Death Cab For Cutie, Sufjan Stevens and Coldplay.

With their debut UK release, FALL OF THE 49 EP, the band deliver a collection of songs that feel both epic and soaring yet somehow maintaining an air of the subdued and hushed.  The majestic T-SHIRT is perhaps the strongest example of this duality, its shy melodies early on gradually giving way to bombastic guitar surges and strident choruses that feel more U2 than anything else.  Title track FALL OF THE 49 is another song that neatly straddles the extremes, raucous guitar riffs tempered by the restrained vocals of singer Morgan Ross.

LIFE is a more laid back college rock affair, semi acoustic guitars sidling up to warm piano chords and Morgan Ross’s calming croon, a little too nice and pleasant to thrill; but decent enough all the same.

The similarly pitched CINDERELLA (HAS NOTHING ON YOU) is another pleasant slice of acoustic indie rock whilst the heartbroken balladeering of MY LADY; IN JULY finds Morgan Ross delivering bruised vocals alongside tender acoustic guitar strums and lustrous slide guitar licks, mesmerising stuff.

The atmospheric post rocking folk of EVERYNIGHT feels at times like Sigur Ros collaborating with Death Cab For Cutie; fingerpicked acoustic guitar work intertwining with sparse piano melodies and shimmering effects laden guitar effects whilst the more raucous SICAMOUS is a bluesy slice of folksy rock that boasts messy riffs, leftfield avant garde rhythmic shuffles and lashings of off kilter noise.

The pretty FINE ART OF BALLET DANCING sees Birds Of Wales climaxing with suitably swooning majesty, another acoustic tinged folk song with Morgan Ross crooning effectively over jangly guitar chords and snappy drum beats.

A warm, welcoming and beguiling collection of songs, the FALL OF THE 49 EP proves Birds Of Wales a band capable of crafting melancholy tinged indie rock that charms as well as surprises.

Known for great songwriting, strong musicianship and outstanding live performances, this young, hard-working folk-rock band is quickly garnering an impressive reputation. In their first year alone, Birds of Wales has signed with The Agency Group; had one of the most played songs on XM Satellite Radio; released and distributed over 560,000 copies of their single, Cinderella (Has Nothing on You), in Ireland; accepted an offer for another song, My Lady; In July, to be featured in the sequel to the film, Trainspotting; distributed their first CD in North America, the UK and Western Europe; and that's just the short list. Birds of Wales is definitely a band to keep your eye on.

Birds of Wales has quickly earned an impressive international following. During 2006, the band played (and often sold-out) shows at many of Canada's and the UK's most coveted venues - Toronto's Phoenix Theatre, Vancouver's Richards on Richards, Liverpool's Cavern Club and London's Borderline, to name a few. They've also performed alongside such bands as The Beautiful South, Stabilo, The Meligrove Band and The Sadies. While their music has drawn comparisons to the likes of Mojave 3, Coldplay, Ryan Adams and Belle & Sebastian, Bird of Wales maintains their own, distinctive sound.

"I've always had a thing for birds. I grew up with a cockatoo," recalls Morgan Ross, Birds of Wales' charismatic frontman, who is also of Welsh decent. Morgan, originally from Vancouver, Canada, always had a strong affinity for music. During his summer break from university in 2005, he recorded a collection of songs with his close friends from EMI band, Stabilo. Soon after finishing this collection, which would inevitably become Birds of Wales' freshman release, Morgan relocated to Toronto and formed the current incarnation of Birds of Wales with his bandmates, Mike Caputo (lead guitar), Moe Smith (bass) and Paul Barry (drums).

Birds of Wales' EP has been enthusiastically received throughout Canada, the UK, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and The Netherlands. Songs from the disc have been broadcast regularly across North America on "The Verge," XM Satellite Radio's new-music station, especially My Lady; In July which was the most-played song on "The Verge" during the month of June 2006. Also around this time, significant interest in the band also began to come from the UK which prompted two successful tours across the pond last August and November.

The success of Birds of Wales' shows and their EP did not go unnoticed. Last May, the band inked a deal with The Agency Group for their North American representation. Then in August, Birds of Wales sealed another deal with London-based label, Invisible Hands Music, to distribute their EP in the UK. By November, the band's songs began to show up on radio airwaves in South England and Wales.

At the start of this year, Birds of Wales began work on a new full-length album in Toronto which is being produced by Bob Egan of Wilco and Blue Rodeo fame. The band's single, Cinderella (Has Nothing on You), was featured on a Valentine's Day CD, 560,000 copies of which were distributed throughout Ireland by the major daily newspapers. Also, My Lady; in July will appear in Rob Heydon's upcoming film, Ecstasy, the sequel to the film, Trainspotting, and the band is gearing up to head across the pond again in April for their third tour of the UK in just 7 months.

2007 is shaping up to be another impressive year for Birds of Wales.

Morgan

Moe

Paul

Mike

FALL OF THE 49 EP (Invisible Hands Music>2007)

Fall Of The 49

Life

Cinderella(Has Nothing On You!)

My Lady; In July

T-Shirt

Everynight

Sicamous

The Fine Art Of Ballet Dancing

A Few More Days (Live)

Birds Of Wales>www.birdsofwales.com

Death Cab For Cutie

Sufjan Stevens

Coldplay