Richard BodinA few weeks ago, we highlighted Pigeon’s latest single “Black James Dean” in our Don’t Miss Them playlist. Their latest album, OUTTANATIONAL has finally come out and it doesn’t disappoint.
Pigeon’s Origins
Pigeon hails from Margate in the UK. The band came together in the aftermath of England’s defeat at the European Football Championship in July 2021. After drinking their sorrows, a bunch of musicians ended up at Steve Pringle’s place, picked up instruments and started jamming. The magic happened when percussionist Falle Nioke eventually began singing. Chemistry was flowing as a new musical project was shaping up around Nioke, with Graham Godfrey (drums), Josh Ludlow (bass), Steve Pringle (synths) and Tom Dream (guitars).
Together, the band blended electronic music with pulsating grooves somewhere between post-punk and psychedelia, layered with African rhythms and melodies. Something quite unique. A few months later, Pigeon was releasing their first EP Yagana, but really started getting recognition with their following EP Backslider, released in June 2023.
OUTTANATIONAL: A Grand Debut
Around the same time, the band had gathered in the studio and recorded much more material, enough to release a debut album. But as all the members of the band have their own things going, other musical projects, families and kids, they weren’t able to finish the project. Two years later, the debut album had time to come to fruition, along with a proper release of Pigeon’s grand debut album OUTTANATIONAL.
Trance-inducing textures
The album opens with the soft energy of “NRG”. It immediately sets the tone for what is to come. African percussions and melodies slowly emerge and tension begins to build through low synth blasts and faint guitar strums. Gradually, lighter synth melodies surface, and the track takes on an almost ceremonial quality. It is hypnotic, trance-inducing, deeply immersive. If I close my eyes, I can almost feel it travelling through body and soul.
If “NRG” eases the listeners into the album, “Black James Dean” offers a more energetic pace. It is built around a more conventional guitar, bass and drums setup. Heady guitar riffs drift through krautrock textures while the rhythm section keeps things grounded in a relentless pulse. It carries the same trance-like energy, but with sharper edges.
A Chemistry built from improvisation
Pigeon’s chemistry is largely built upon extensive improvisation sessions. And it definitely shows. There is no simple way to describe their music. Some songs lean more heavily into African textures, melodies and percussion, while other tracks embrace post-punk grooves, krautrock repetition or psychedelic electronics. Yet despite these shifting influences, OUTTANATIONAL never feels disjointed. Instead, the album moves with a strange natural flow, held together by its deeply immersive quality. Throughout, there is something almost transportive about the experience. One can really lose oneself in the music, drift elsewhere and fly away. Like a Pigeon.
“Pigeon must fly”
As the title suggests, the album explores themes like belonging to one place, migration or identity. “Black James Dean” for example, was originally titled “Black Gipsy” after a local gipsy from Margate once referred Falle Nioke that way. A nod to his journey from his native Guinea to England. A song like “Caramel” reflects to origins and ancestry, while “Hype Prototype” or “Future Country” question the idea of belonging to one place only. Even the name of the band —inspired by Nioke’s favourite childhood pet in Guinea— is a reference to this need to travel in a quest for home. As the band says in their bio: “Pigeon must fly”.
Final Thoughts
With OUTTANATIONAL, Pigeon has crafted a debut that feels both deeply rooted and impossible to place. Drawing from multiple traditions without ever sounding derivative, the band has found a language entirely its own — psychedelic, hypnotic and quietly profound. With OUTTANATIONAL, Pigeon blurs physical boundaries and reminds us that sometimes home is not a place, but a journey. And Music is its vessel.
