It’s been a big few years for the Leeds-based post-rock quintet, Din of Celestial Birds. Their debut EP1 released in 2019 established them as ones to watch in the UK post-everything underground. It was their 2023 album The Night Is For Dreamers, however, that cemented them as the new wunderkinds of the scene, and in the years following its release they would go on to bag slots at the likes of Damnation Festival, ArcTanGent and China’s Can Festival. Now, they return with their much anticipated follow up, Takeoffs & Landings.
A concept album based around the themes of travel and adventure, along with all the trials, tribulations and triumphs that go with it, Takeoffs and Landings is Din Of Celestial Birds at their most vital and energetic, while also being at their most thoughtful and delicate. It’s a 40-minute journey across eight songs that takes the listener to soaring heights, with moments of serene introspection as well as thrillingly heavy sections thrown in for good measure.
Strap in before pressing play, as the opening title track pins you to your seat from the off, the triple-guitar riffage launching the song with all the energy of a jet engine. It’s a thrilling ride and the soaring melody gives a sense of reassurance as if to say, “You’re in safe hands, so sit back and enjoy the ride.” It sticks the landing with a satisfyingly chunky riff, and by the time it’s over, you’re left shaken but ready for another spin.
As far as instrumental concept albums go, the songs on Takeoffs & Landings are relatively straightforward; there’s not much in the way of noodling, prog freakouts, or time signature changes, but it’s all the better for it. Only one of the eight songs goes past the 6-minute mark, which in post-rock terms means it’s practically a pop album. You can tell they’ve taken the time to edit, as no one section outstays its welcome and every passage serves the song. The time in the studio with long-time collaborator Joe Clayton (Pijn, Curse These Metal Hands) was obviously well spent building their compositions and dialling in the tones on every contraption on their mammoth pedal boards to get the most out of every single note.
Take ‘Marmoris’ for example, which features some beautiful interplay between the guitars and bass in its quieter sections before they create a dense wall of harmonies by double tracking each of the three guitars provided by Chris Core, Tom Hazelhurst and Andie Gill.
It’s also clear that they’re having a blast pushing the boundaries of post-rock as a genre and throwing in whatever they think will suit the song and be fun for them to play. When those big, major harmonies hit, it’s with all the pomp and confidence of a cock rock band, only one with brains, heart and soul. There are even some blast beats thrown in for good measure by drummer Vince Knight-Schrijver at the crescendo of ‘Marmoris’ which would rival any modern death metal band in intensity.
Lead single ‘From This Summit We Can See The Stars’ sees the band at their most dynamic, with a restrained pizzicato riff complemented by some interesting sound design that sounds like creaking wood that eventually develops into an absolute monster of a riff that verges into groove metal territory.
“Takeoffs & Landings is a journey worth taking time over, as each new listen reveals new details”
Photo Credit: Din Of Celestial Birds
Much of Din Of Celestial Birds’ music is injected with a vital energy, such as in ‘When Suddenly…’, which has a real sense of urgency. Its throbbing synth bassline and up-tempo, four-to-the-floor beat give it the feel of a montage scene from an 80s action flick.
Then there’s the gorgeous ‘You Are My Temple’ with its lush major chord intro riff giving way to the album’s most delicate clean guitar passages, each reverb-drenched note played with so much love. In the latter half of the song more cleverly layered harmonies provide a base from which some stunning lead work can transmit a message of joy and hope directly into the heavens themselves.
As with any journey worth taking, there is heartbreak along the way. Guitarist Andie Gill wrote ‘I Hope That Road Leads You Somewhere Beautiful, Somewhere You Belong’ as a tribute to his late partner Roisin, who tragically passed away in 2025. He and his bandmates have taken that pain and despair and turned it into something hauntingly beautiful that is as much a celebration of life as it is a lament for those lost.
The final leg of the album’s colourful journey is the aptly named ‘Second Star To The Right, And Straight On ‘Til Morning’. Do not expect a gentle landing but a dramatic climax as frantic tremolo-picked lead lines usher in the album’s heaviest riff yet, a one-note chugger which was surely written to give their audience’s neck muscles a thorough workout in the fields of Fernhill Farm.
Takeoffs & Landings is a journey worth taking time over, as each new listen reveals new details, be it a deftly plucked bassline courtesy of Matt Benatan underpinning the walls of harmonies, a tremolo picked melody that blooms like a flower amongst the undergrowth, or a clever bit of sound design chirping like a bird in a distant tree.
One thing is for certain, given what the band achieved off the back of their previous record, the sky is now the limit for this flock of birds. Takeoffs & Landings is an album of the year contender and an essential listen for fans of post-rock.