indie

Stream ‘Sounds Made by Humans’

News

Sounds Made by Humans – an album of my poetry put to music by the fabulous Catenary Wires – can now be listened to on Spotify, iTunes and those other streaming platforms.

“A contender for album of the year.” Backseat Mafia
“An instant cult classic. 5/5” Louder Than War

And if you like what you hear, you can hear it played live this autumn when we’re heading off on a UK tour. There will be music, poems, mugs, tea towels, and somewhere to sit down (should you want to). We can be found in the following places …

12 Sep: RAMSGATE: Music Hall
30 Oct: BANBURY: Mill Arts Centre
1 Nov: LONDON: Bloomsbury Theatre
3 Nov: NORWICH: Norwich Arts Centre
4 Nov: STAMFORD: Corn Exchange
5 Nov: MILTON KEYNES: The Stables
6 Nov: BRIGHTON: Komedia
12 Nov: WORCESTER: Huntingdon Hall
13 Nov: NOTTINGHAM: Metronome
14 Nov: SWANSEA: Grand Theatre
15 Nov: BRISTOL: John Wesley’s Chapel
21 Nov: MANCHESTER: Halle St Peters
22 Nov: OTLEY: Courthouse
23 Nov: CHORLEY: Chorley Theatre
24 Nov: LIVERPOOL: Royal Philharmonic
25 Nov: SHEFFIELD: The Foundry
26 Nov: GLASGOW: Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA)
27 Nov: NEWCASTLE: The Pilgrim
28 Nov: POCKLINGTON: Arts Centre
4 Dec: HERNE BAY: King’s Hall

Hope to see some of you along the way.

Nights of music and poetry …

News

One tour may have just finished but here’s news of another one coming soon …

I’m delighted to announce that this autumn I’ll be going on tour with The Catenary Wires, for some fun-filled evenings of music and poetry. We’ll be performing our album ‘Sounds Made by Humans’, and there’ll be poems from me and music from the band throughout the night.

Most of the gigs are in November, with a few either side. We’ll be coming to Banbury, Brighton, Bristol, Chorley, Glasgow, Herne Bay, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Otley, Pocklington, Ramsgate, Sheffield, Stamford, Swansea, and Worcester.

Tickets have gone on sale this morning. For the full list of shows and links to tickets, you can find them all here:

Events

And here are few review snippets of ‘Sounds Made by Humans’:

“[An] album of the year.” Backseat Mafia

“An instant cult classic. 5/5” Louder Than War

“Filled to the rafters with wit and smart hooks.” Here Comes the Flood

Hope to see some of you there.

Brian

Sounds Made by Humans – out now!

News

Last week saw the release of ‘Sounds Made by Humans’, an album of ‘poem songs’ I’ve made with the brilliant Catenary Wires.

Sounds Made by Humans

The album is out now on vinyl and CD; it’s also available for streaming on Spotify and elsewhere, and can be downloaded.

Some places where you can find it…

BANDCAMP

SHOPIFY

ROUGH TRADE (including limited edition ‘white vinyl’ edition):

We’re really proud of it and we’ll be taking it on the road with us in the UK in November, for some evenings of music and poetry. More on that in a few weeks.

Happy listening x

Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires

Sounds Made by Humans

News

Some exciting news …

I’ve been collaborating (well, having fun) with a brilliant band, The Catenary Wires, who have very cleverly put some of my poems to music. The result is an album of thirteen songs to be released on 9th May on Skep Wax Records. It’s called ‘Sounds Made by Humans’.

It can be pre-ordered now on vinyl and CD here: https://linktr.ee/brianbilston and it will also be available for streaming and download.

The LP features some of my most popular poems ‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’, ‘She’d Dance’, ‘To Do List’, ‘Thou Shalt Not Commit Adulting’, alongside many more timeless, toe-tapping classics.

You can hear a sneak preview of ‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’ here: https://brianbilstonandthecatenarywires.bandcamp.com/track/alexa-what-is-there-to-know-about-love

The album can be pre-ordered now on vinyl and CD, and includes a full colour insert with lyrics, illustrated by Elodie Ginsburg. It will also be available for streaming and download. Some places where you can pre-order:

BANDCAMP: https://brianbilstonandthecatenarywires.bandcamp.com/album/sounds-made-by-humans-2

SHOPIFY: https://skepwax.myshopify.com/products/brian-bilston-and-the-catenary-wires-sounds-made-by-humans-album?variant=50478896906579

ROUGH TRADE: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/brian-bilston-and-the-catenary-wires/sounds-made-by-humans

We’re really proud of it; so much so that there are plans afoot to take it on tour in the UK in November. I’ll share details of those dates with you when confirmed.

*The Catenary Wires are a group comprising Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Ian Button. Their critically acclaimed third album ‘Birling Gap’ was released in 2021. Since then, they have been focusing on their other bands, playing around the world with Heavenly (icons of the 90s indiepop scene) and Swansea Sound.

Duffle Coat

Assorted Poems, Some poems

Your band
was a one song wonder.
Don’t know whether
you made another.

Got made
NME single of the week.
It put the bubble
in my squeak

and the snap
and crackle in my pop.
Twelve weeks solid
I did not stop

playing it.
The jingle-jangles
softened
the awkward angles

of what it’s like
to be fifteen.
I kept the sleeve
pristine,

wore a duffle coat
all that summer.
I hear you became
a plumber.