REVIEW: Din Of Celestial Birds - Takeoffs & Landings
- Jasmine Longhurst
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Leeds’ most emotionally devastating musical export, DIN OF CELESTIAL BIRDS, are back and ready to rip your stitched-up heart wide open. The instrumental post-rockers have put together a collection of music that soars and dives to mimic the to’s and fro’s of life’s journey - whether that be in more metaphorical sensibilities, or the more literal, as shown off by the record’s title - Takeoffs & Landings.
With gargantuan gulfs between the delicate and crushing, the brooding and the uplifting, the light and the heavy, this feels like a record written to bring out superlatives. Fans of extremes and duality are going to adore every bit of this LP - the dizzying Migratory Patterns (the song, not the amazing natural occurrence that’s particularly dazzling with murmurations of thousands of starlings) may be a standout, but the base level is incredibly high across the board.
The ability on display is, quite simply, phenomenal. The sheer effort that’s been put into this record is instantly apparent, and so is the passion. Whilst their live show is majestic, and shows off every facet of their brilliant 2023 debut album The Night Is For Dreamers, this record has been put together with an obvious intention - to provide a deeper, more layered and woven piece of music that won’t be replicated live in quite the same fashion. In short, this album needs to be sat back and listened to in the same way a complex whiskey, expensive cigar, or good book should be enjoyed.
Every song has something to love. The opener and title track is a breathtaking way to open the record, with its beautiful intro and some searingly heavy moments to balance out the calm. The semi-cyclic nature of From This Summit We Can See The Heavens & Stars will surely lead to it becoming a firm fan favourite both recorded and live, whilst final track Second Star To The Right, and Straight On Til’ Morning - of course named for the iconic directions to Neverland in J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan - features gorgeous melodic picking and atmospheric tones that go on and on and on, before a great crescendo of cymbals and guitars and a vast wave of emotion threaten to overcome the listener.
Instrumental acts rarely, if ever, get better than this. DIN OF CELESTIAL BIRDS have shot for the moon and landed even higher here, no doubt propelling them into the very highest echelons of post-rock for many of their listeners. For those who do know the band, this won’t come as much of a surprise. For those that don’t - catch up on what you’re missing right now, or regret it when they’re headlining the big venues.
Score: 9/10
Takeoffs & Landings will be released on 7th August 2026 via Big Scary Monsters.
Words: Jasmine Longhurst
Photos: Alex Dixon
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