Two Southampton bands that move the grey matter as well as the body are Birdpen and Sine Star Project.

And both have an excellent November ahead which will reward years of hard graft.

Birdpen (left) digitally release their debut album On/Off/Safety/Danger on 3rd November and have been confirmed as the support for Ida Maria’s 15 date tour of the UK.

As a warm-up they’ll be playing the Joiners this Monday (27th Oct) and I’ll review the album next week.

Meanwhile November sees Sine Star Project supporting Marillion: three gigs in the UK and four in Holland.

I recently spoke with their drummer Matthew Shmigelsky and he joked that because they build their own studio equipment and guitar amps they could easily be placed in a “Geek Rock” genre.

However true I see this ability as a reflection of the band’s dedication to their art and they also approach their song writing with a similar level of thought and skill.

Sine Star Project’s web video presence has recently improved thanks to filmmaker Philip Bloom.

He used the track “little Bird” from their second album “Building Humans” for an art installation and in doing so produced an impressive promotional tool for the band.

This means they have been able to ditch the old promos which were acceptable to die-hard fans but unlikely to attract new ones.

Birdpen and Sine Star Project deserve our support as they are talented and both have the drive and perseverance to take them into Europe and beyond.

Their videos are on www.showcaseuk.tv

See also: Marillion “Peer” Into The Future

Birdpen’s highly anticipated debut album On/Off/Safety/Danger will be digitally released on Monday November 3rd.

A free and exclusive download of the track ‘Airspace’ will accompany the release and be available on all of iTunes European sites.

The album follows the digital release of the Breaking Precedent EP which, along with another album track, included two new tracks.

In November Birdpen will be supporting Norwegian songstress Ida Maria on her UK tour and have a great range of supports on the south coast lined up.

Tour Dates

Wednesday 8th October – Lennons, Southampton (Supporting The Joy Formidable)
Wednesday 15th October – Railway, Winchester (Winchester Live Festival)
Monday 27th October – The Joiners, Southampton (Supporting A Silent Film)

Ida Maria Tour:

Friday 7th November – Oran Mor, Glasgow
Saturday 8th November – Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
Sunday 9th November – Academy 2, Newcastle
Wednesday 12th November – The Point, Cardiff
Thursday 13th November – The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
Friday 14th November – Academy 2, Sheffield
Saturday 15th November – Barfly, Birmingham
Tuesday 18th November – Komedia, Brighton
Wednesday 19th November – Cockpit, Leeds
Thursday 20th November – Club Academy, Manchester
Saturday 22nd November – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Sunday 23rd November – Zodiac, Oxford
Monday 24th November – Waterfront, Norwich
Wednesday 26th November – Thekla, Bristol
Thursday 27th November – Scala, London

Friday 12th December – Orange Rooms, Southampton (Supporting Delays)

See the BirdPen website for links to tickets and info etc etc.
www.birdpen.com

Birdpen on Showcase UK