Hejira - 'Prayer Before Birth' [album stream]

The London four-piece's moody, thrashing debut LP is now available to stream in full.

Back in 2012, Matthew Herbert told us to watch out for London band Hejira, saying: "There’s a delicate orchestration to their playing and arrangements that has more in common with symphonic classical music than rock…Full of gentle surprises, the whole project feels unhindered by compromise or a desire to please."

Today, their debut album for Accidental Records is available to stream in full, and it has that sentiment ringing all the way throught it – its guitar arrangements are sparse but constantly shifting and thrashing with a life of their own, eschewing typical song structure for more vibrant meanderings – even the open, loose production leaves you feeling like the band are stood right in front of you (or even occasionally right behind you, possibly breathing down your neck). Far from a playful jam, though, this album hisses and sulks, entrenched in low-riding melodies, biting, confrontational lyricism and a tendency to writhe and burst in moments of heated temper. It's a soulful, experimental rock record unlike anything else we've heard in a while; stream the whole thing below.