Le Temps, Libération and Les Inrockuptibles have all heaped praise on Billie Bird for her live performances and the handful of singles and EPs she has released over the years. Here, at last, is her first album proper. Entitled “Incendies”, it is available now via Mouthwatering Records.

“Incendies” was a long time in the making. Billie Bird aka Elodie Romain was born thirty-nine years ago to a loving mother who, sadly, suffered from serious mental problems, and a father who found it impossible to look after the little girl and her sister. Living for many years in a children’s home – which she found preferable to the loneliness of a home where neither her mother nor her father were regularly present -, Elodie found solace in music, especially in playing the guitar her mother had given her as a present when she was nine.

After her studies in Geneva – social sciences at first, then music – she taught music for several years whilst also working on her development as an author, composer and performer under the banner of Billie Bird. Now residing in Lausanne, she describes herself as a singer-songwriter to whom it is essential to create “intimate bonds through performing, with authenticity and generosity”. With “Incendies”, she delivers proof that she has truly found her voice. Produced by her old friend, guitarist Fabio Pinto (also a member of the excellent Monte Mai), “Incendies” impresses with a deep sense of ruminative calm, an ear for strong, chansonesque melodies wrapped in unusual electronic/organic textures, and voice that suggests vulnerability, confidence and strength all at once.