Matching classic indie pop songcraft with finely burnished arrangements and heartwarming vocals, London's Birdie -- a duo comprised of indie pop pioneer Debsey Wykes of Dolly Mixture and Martin Kelly of East Village -- made a splash with two albums issued in the late '90s (Some Dusty and Triple Echo) and have since only rarely popped out of semi-retirement to play the occasional show or issue a song or two. Wykes had been a member of the legendary Dolly Mixture in the early '80s and Martin Kelly was in East Village, a well-respected jangle pop group who operated near the end of the decade and fizzled out in the early '90s. The pair met while serving as touring members of Saint Etienne in 1994. Thy soon discovered a mutual love of Burt Bacharach, '60s sunshine pop, and soft rock, and when the Saint Etienne tour ended, they began doing some home recording. The results proved promising enough that the pair headed into a studio to record two songs, “Spiral Staircase” and “Port Sunlight.” Summershine Records heard them and jumped at the chance to release a single in 1997. From there, the pair was given the chance to record a full-length album on London's it Records. They laid down a set of relaxed, warm, and sunny pop songs with the help of producer Brian O'Shaughnessy, string arranger Sean O'Hagen of High Llamas, and drummer Wildcat Will. Kelly handled all the guitars, while Wykes contributed bass, a wide variety of keyboards, and all the lead and harmony vocals. The resulting album, Some Dusty, was issued by it in the U.K., Elefant in Spain, Minty Fresh in Japan, and Kindercore in North America. After its release, the duo split time between their duties with Saint Etienne and making a second record. Working with O'Shaughnessy again, they recruited a stellar group of sidemen to help out, including drummer Jon Chandler (Absentee), bassist Will Pepper (Thee Hypnotics, Epic Soundtracks), and keyboardist Sean Read (Denim, Rockingbirds, Beth Orton, and many more). They came up with a sound that was fractionally more refined and musically complex than their debut while still delivering the same comforting glow. The album, titled Triple Echo, was released by it, along with Germany's Apricot label, in 2001. The duo wound down their time as Birdie soon after, with commitments to Saint Etienne and family taking center stage. A collection of singles and stray tracks titled Reverb Deluxe was issued in 2002, and it wasn't until 2018 that the Where It's at Is Where You Are label issued a single, "Tomorrow"/"Bowling Green Saturday." It proved to be a mere blip on the radar and the band settled back into semi-retirement. In 2024, Slumberland became the fifth label to issue Some Dusty when they made a vinyl edition of the album available in middle of 2024. It featured a green cover this time and an amended running order that was more in line with what the duo originally intended. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi