Few records leave you with a feeling you can’t name, even when it was never yours in the first place. GISKE’s “The Sound of Birdsong” linger like that, pulling you into a space between midnight and sunrise. It’s quiet but never hollow, melancholic yet never drowning, it’s the sound of folk-pop done right.
GISKE is a borrowed name from an island in Norway, where a bike ride turned into lifelong musical collaboration for Rune Berg and Alex Rinde. Their debut album was released in 1995, playing in several bands and musical constellations together. This time, they’re back with The Sound of Birdsong, a nocturnal, hypnotic track blending modern indie folk with classic British pop.
The Sound of Birdsong begins by wrapping you in a soft haze through reverb, glimmering guitars, and soft percussion. The vocals glide through the mix, think of a whisper that feels close, yet distant at the same time to ring like a memory. This track feels like The Smiths meeting Nick Drake in Cocteau Twins’ dream: ethereal, intimate, and nostalgic all at once.
Lyrically, GISKE paints something like a half-remembered dream that keeps you awake at 3 AM, tracing over towns, food, and galleries in a blur. It sits in between places and feelings, like a dream and a memory, familiar yet new, light yet with a pinch of longing.
What you’ll love most about GISKE is how deliberate they are, how their sound speaks to you without ever learning who you are. And somehow that’s the magic The Sound of Birdsong brings, dreamy and hypnotic enough to lose yourself in it.
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