The Pigeon Detectives

Five friends hailing from Leeds, England, who deliver scruffy yet high-energy rock & roll laced with ample bravado, the Pigeon Detectives came together in 2002; the lineup—Matt Bowman handling lead vocals, Oliver Main and Ryan Wilson on guitars, Dave Best on bass, and Jimmi Naylor on drums—had been schoolmates who first met at age twelve. Press notices for their live shows began arriving in 2004, and by 2006 the band issued its first recording, the limited-edition 7-inch vinyl “I’m Not Sorry.” That release secured them support dates across Britain alongside Dirty Pretty Things, while a second limited pressing, “You Know I Love You,” appeared in July with a run of one thousand copies instead of the initial five hundred. In autumn 2006 the Kaiser Chiefs brought the Pigeon Detectives along for dates throughout the U.K. and Europe, and the group’s third single—its debut for the indie imprint Dance to the Radio—“I Found Out,” landed in November and climbed to the top of the British indie chart. Kaiser Chiefs member Nick Baines publicly hailed the Pigeon Detectives as his preferred new act, and BBC broadcasters Steve Lamacq, Jo Whiley, and Zane Lowe added their endorsements as the fourth single, “Romantic Type,” entered the national Top 20. The band’s debut album, Wait for Me, surfaced on Dance to the Radio in mid-2007. A year later came Emergency, helmed by producer Stephen Street. After completing a nationwide trek behind the sophomore record, the quintet paused before rejoining the road in 2010 as support for Manchester’s James. That same year they entered the Brooklyn, New York studio of Justin Gerrish—known for work with Vampire Weekend and Yeah Yeah Yeahs—to track their third album, Up, Guards and at ’Em!, which emerged in 2011, securing the band its third straight U.K. Top 40 entry and a subsequent European tour. Their fourth long-player, We Met at Sea, arrived in 2013 and drew mixed critical notices. In 2017 the Pigeon Detectives issued their fifth album, Broken Glances, presenting it as an expression of gratitude to longtime supporters.