Free at Noon Flashback: Jealous of the Birds bring intoxicating Irish rock to the states

Jealous of the Birds | photo by Jamie Stow for WXPN

Rising Northern Irish rock stars Jealous of the Birds have just landed stateside, and treated today’s Free at Noon crowd to the first show of their American tour. Led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Naomi Hamilton, the prolific group has shot onto the scene with two recent EPs, The Moths of What I Want Will Eat Me in My Sleep and Wisdom Teeth.

If today’s set was your introduction to Jealous of the Birds, you came at the perfect time, as the band powered through a succinct sampling of songs from across their growing catalogue. Amid the genre-defying rock songs, the band incorporates glimmers of their Irish heritage into some tunes — Hamilton picked up an acoustic guitar for the lilting “Marrow” and “Clementina,” turning her feverish pace down a notch to let the delicate sound take shape. They then gave us a look at their brand new single just released today, called “The Grass Begins to Eat Itself,” and closed with the intoxicating “Plastic Skeletons,” the single that first introduced us to the band.

Chances are today’s 30-minute set left you eager to see more of Jealous of the Birds, and the luck of the Irish is on your side. The band has residencies scheduled in Philly, NYC and Boston this fall, and will appear at Dawson St. Pub in Manayunk over four Thursdays, beginning on September 26 and continuing on October 3, 10, and 17. Find more information on the XPN Concert Calendar and revisit today’s set below.