Spotlight release - Birdseed drops EP ‘trying not to think about it’
- Natasha Judge
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Indie-folk artist, birdseed, dropped their EP ‘trying not to think about it’ - a three track release covering the inevitable formative life changes that come with growing up.
Based between Edinburgh and the Lake District, Eve Westwood pseudonym birdseed, spoke to tune about the formation of the courageously vulnerable release track by track.
Westwood expressed going into the creation process, they wanted to create a story with the songs, and coincided their real time feelings with the songwriting process.
Notably, the release comes at a busy time, as Eve has been working away in preparation for a masters degree within Music Therapy, the process of which has been hugely inspiring for this project.
Westwood said: “It's been a really enjoyable and natural creative process, to be honest.
“I’ve been itching to get back into it for a little while. I was waiting for something that felt like a body of work, and when I started writing and recording these songs, I knew I wanted them to exist in the world.
“It was all very organic and cathartic.”
The recording for the EP began in their university halls of residence, with welcome interruptions from flatmates, who served as the first loyal listeners to the early tracks. The first two tracks were produced alongside Anaïs Galetti, and the project was completed with a self-produced track - ‘good stuff’, at their home in the Lakes, formatting a cyclical moment.
The new tracks join the existing single ‘pass the parcel’, a beautifully raw track which demonstrates the acknowledgement that something good can still come to an end, and the processing that comes with this experience. With a heartbeat-esque beat throughout this track, it is certainly a standout from this EP.
Taking inspiration from the melancholic ‘Scott Street’ by Phoebe Bridgers, Eve commented that they had to keep checking in with this track from worries they were being “too honest”, which is a powerfully vulnerable skill to possess. The refreshing honesty in these lyrics is definitely paying off, as the track has been supported by BBC Introducing in Cumbria and Lancashire already!
Westwood takes inspiration from their friends, and the places and environments they find themselves in.
Opening track ‘the picture’ takes quite literal inspiration from a linocut print purchased in Edinburgh. Featuring both banjos and guitars, the stripped back feel is mirrored in its wistful lyricalism.
It touches on the almost supposed adage sayings one can hear in dispirited periods of time. The recurring “when you know you know” alongside earlier yearning lyrics, matched with the closing strings riff, expertly encapsulates longing feelings for the “impossible thing” to occur.
Speaking on the track, Westwood said: “I think on a base level, it's about navigating that gut feeling when something in life feels out of alignment, and sort of dealing with the fallout of that, even when you want to be the optimist and hope that it's all okay.”
The final track ‘good stuff’ finalises this story arc of change, and as the title implies, it navigates the positivity that can occur with change. When speaking on the track birdseed illustrated that this particular song was born out of moving, and the change of scenery that comes with that.
Westwood said: “I originally wrote it entirely on the banjo, but ended up using my trusty £30 nylon string guitar instead.
“I was still reflecting on those themes of change, but from a much more grounded and positive headspace. I sampled the River Cocker in this song too to reflect that feeling of leaving the city and moving into a new chapter.
“I hope it’s an optimistic spin on navigating change and looking forward.”
If this EP is anything to go off, we certainly feel optimistic for the future of birdseed, especially as Westwood excitedly expressed gig plans and upcoming follow-up tracks.
The EP ‘trying not to think about it’ is available now, and can be accessed here.
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