Exploring Birdsong
Special Guests: Paul & The Holy Saint See
Venue: The Classic Grand, Glasgow.
Date: 23rd September 2026
Review & Photos: Dave Buchanan
Back in Glasgow tonight for a night of live music. It’s been a while (now humming Staind) since I have been motivated enough to head out for a show (gig burnout is a real thing, right!). However, after reviewing the spectacular debut album from UK progressive band Exploring Birdsong a few months ago (check it out here), there was absolutely no way I was missing the chance to see these guys up close and personal at one of Glasgow’s finest establishments (yes, those do exist in Glasgow). Unfortunately, main support Hailaker had to drop from the tour due to a family emergency, which meant Glaswegian newcomers, Paul & The Holy Saint See, had the stage to themselves for a wee bit longer than originally planned.
Paul & The Holy Saint See
I had never heard of Paul & The Holy Saint See until tonight, but it turns out there is good reason for this. You see, this alternative indie quartet has only been playing shows as a band for a short time. And while some of that innocence shows tonight, what makes the band interesting is the sense that they are still in the process of defining exactly what they can become. There is a welcome sense of individuality about the band, too. Paul & The Holy Saint See don’t come across as just another Glasgow guitar band attempting to win over a room through sheer energy. There is a more considered musical personality here, and one that suggests more may emerge as the band’s repertoire develops.
Frontman Paul (I’m assuming!) already has a really distinctive voice, with a great tone and texture that immediately grabs your attention. Sure Footed, in particular, strikes a nice balance between the rasp of Brian Fallon and the melodic charm of The Menzingers. There’s a real warmth and character in his delivery that gives the songs plenty of personality.
Bassist Brian also caught my ear, adding some well-placed runs that give the songs a bit more colour and movement without ever feeling overdone. But just as noticeable was how much the band seemed to be enjoying themselves. There’s a genuine sense of fun running through the whole set, and the interaction with the crowd feels natural rather than forced. That makes it pretty easy to get drawn into what they’re doing and enjoy the ride along with them.
A support slot is often about making an impression in a limited amount of time, and Paul & The Holy Saint See left the impression of a band with somewhere to go. Their material has enough atmosphere and personality to stand apart, while the live performance suggests that the songs could become even more compelling as the group grows into them.
For a relatively new Glasgow act, that is a promising place to be. While not the finished article yet, there’s something considerably intriguing about a band beginning to discover the scale of its own sound.
Exploring Birdsong
With their debut album Every House We Built now out in the world, Exploring Birdsong arrived in Glasgow’ with a point to prove. The album is an ambitious piece of work, full of dramatic shifts, clever arrangements and towering vocal performances, so the question was always going to be, would that scale translate to the stage?
For the most part, the answer is an emphatic yes.
Lynsey Ward is the obvious place to start. Her lead vocal was nothing short of incredible, and across the entire set there was not an off-note to be heard. The control is impressive enough on the record, but hearing her navigate the album’s more demanding moments live really drives home just what a phenomenal vocalist she is. There is power when it’s needed, but just as importantly, she knows when to pull things back, giving the quieter moments a vulnerability that stops the set becoming all bombast.
And there is plenty of bombast. Every House We Built is an album that clearly wants to operate on a grand scale, and the live show embraces that. The set had a strong sense of cohesion, helped by a backing track that played between songs and acted almost like connective tissue, carrying a thread from one track into the next. Rather than feeling like a collection of individual songs, the performance developed a narrative flow of its own.
One of the coolest moments came with the introduction to Spy in the House of Love, which incorporated John Farnham’s You’re the Voice into the opening. It’s the sort of idea that could easily have felt gimmicky, but the two tracks blended surprisingly naturally, creating a genuinely clever way to launch into the song. Obviously being Scottish (and selfish), and with the tour kicking off in Glasgow, I hoped for some live bagpipes. Maybe next time, though, right?
Instrumentally, Jonny Knight deserves enormous credit. Switching effortlessly between bass, keys and backing vocals throughout the evening, he is constantly having to change roles without disrupting the momentum of the performance. His bass playing in particular is exceptional. Given that Exploring Birdsong don’t have a traditional lead guitarist filling out the heavier sections, there was always going to be some curiosity about whether the bass could carry that weight. For the most part, it absolutely can, and Knight gets an impressive amount of presence and colour from the instrument.
There are a couple of occasions, however, where you are reminded that a bass isn’t quite the same beast as a heavily distorted guitar. Some of the chunkier passages could have done with a little more impact and physicality. Not a huge deal, nor was it a fundamental problem with the arrangements, but there were moments where the music felt as though it was reaching for an extra level of heft.
Another question going in was how the band would reproduce the layers of vocals that are so prominent on the album. The answer is, interestingly, with less reliance on backing tracks than I had anticipated. There are still some pre-recorded elements underpinning the performance, but the live arrangements feel considerably more organic than simply pressing play on the album and performing over it. That gives the songs room to breathe, while Ward’s voice remains firmly at the centre.
The passion of the band is perhaps the most likeable aspect of the whole evening. You can tell they genuinely love what they’re doing. There’s no sense of simply going through the motions; even amid the technical demands of the material, there is an enthusiasm and commitment that makes the performance feel personal. That matters with music this grandiose. Without that emotional investment, the bigger moments could easily become overblown.
Exploring Birdsong may still have a few edges to smooth out in the live arrangements, but those feel like minor details in a performance that otherwise demonstrated just how far the band have come. The older material may lack some of the grandeur of the new songs, but if anything, that only makes Every House We Built feel like the beginning of something much bigger.
With Every House We Built, Archipelago and Meadowlands providing a suitably epic and emotional finale, Exploring Birdsong left the Classic Grand having made a compelling case for their debut. If this is what they can do on the first night of a tour, there is plenty to look forward to as these songs, and this band, continue to grow.
