Folk Pop from Lara and The Birds

Lara and The Birds is an artist whose music feels like fragments gathered from roads travelled, lovers remembered and brief moments suspended between memory and myth. Hailing from northern England, her voice is informed by movement and observation, creating poetic piano-led music instilled with storytelling, humanity and eccentric detail.

Her songs carry the echo of countless places, encounters and emotional loose ends, stitched together through contemplative songwriting that balances melancholy with wit. The inspirations feeding into her work are wonderfully expansive; French chansons drifting through old cafés, blues singers on porches in the Mississippi Delta, unaccompanied folk voices ringing through Irish bars and the sharp theatrical energy of German Kabarett all leave their imprint on her songwriting.

The metallic hum of German techno, the sound of scooters screeching through Phnom Penh, the rhythm of South African landscapes, seagulls crashing against Cornish coastlines and even the sound of her dog Bruce sleeping all become part of the emotional pillars behind the songs. Her debut album, Album For Ex-Lovers, is built from two decades of relationships and emotional chapters, serving as both archive and celebration, exploring connections that may not have lasted but still left permanent marks behind.

Now, following a string of impressive singles over the last couple of years, her latest single titled “Josh of the Jungle” arrives from a real-life encounter long before the era of social media permanence, reflecting on a short-lived romance with a man whose surname she never even learned. Without digital traces to anchor him to reality, he drifts through memory almost like folklore, transformed from former lover into mythological figure. Recorded at Hope Mill Recording Studios, the version listeners hear was originally intended as nothing more than a practice take but its imperfections became part of its charm.

Wrapped up in a loose bluesy folk pop sound that mirrors the warmth and spontaneity of the story itself, the track jumps straight in with jaunty bass lines, pattering percussion and strummed guitar as Lara’s alluring voice hovers above. Spinning story-telling lyrics about infatuation and the enigmatic nature of the main character, serving up a grooving jam that’s playful and lighthearted as well and musically compelling.

Capped by Lara’s dramatic vocals, tinged with deep backing voice elements and captured in an intimate performance setting “Josh of The Jungle” sees Lara and The Birds deliver a delightful musical moment that’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face. As she shares more of her debut record Album For Ex-Lovers, Lara and The Birds is sure to impress more and more listeners across the UK and beyond.

Listen to Josh of The Jungle below

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