I Became Birds

I Became Birds is a 2021 release by American emo band Home Is Where.

Reception
In Exclaim!, this was listed by the staff as one of the top 25 EPs of 2021, with Adam Feibel writing that "it feels like a fully realized epic of modern punk". (Despite the release's short length, the band considers it to be their debut LP. ) Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media rated this album an 8.0 out of 10, writing that the band "channels a sense of boundless possibility" and summing up that this release "feels like emo once again flipping the switch on its eternal energy source"; the venue would list it among the best rock albums of 2021. PopMatters' Michael Frank Lukich calls this music "therapeutic" and compares the music favorably to Bob Dylan, Fugazi, and Neutral Milk Hotel, rating it an 8 out of 10. Nina Corcoran of Stereogum named Home Is Where a "Band to Watch" for "the pitch-perfect decisions of their songs" on this release. The site also listed this 8 on the 50 best albums of 2021 on June 8, with critic Julia Gray calling it "a parade of harmonicas, strings, horns, and acoustic guitars", with lyrics that include "breathless images and musings" and vocals made up of "whispers mutating into guttural yelps".

Track listing
All songs written by Home Is Where, with lyrics by Brandon MacDonald.
 * 1) "l. ron hubbard was way cool" – 1:40
 * 2) "long distance conjoined twins" – 3:27
 * 3) "sewn together from the membrane of the great sea cucumber" – 4:46
 * 4) "the scientific classification of stingrays" – 2:19
 * 5) "assisted harakiri" – 4:30
 * 6) "the old country" – 2:05

Personnel
Home Is Where
 * Josiah Gardella – drums
 * Trace George – guitar
 * Brandon MacDonald – singing, harmonica, singing saw
 * Connor "Fat Slaps" O'Brien – bass guitar

Additional personnel
 * Matt Goings – synthesizer, tambourine, mixing, production, mastering
 * Ellie Kovach – liner notes
 * Wes Meadows – horns
 * Christiana Patterson – violin
 * The Puppy Petter Choir – backing vocals on "swen together from the membrane of the great sea cucumber"
 * Haley Craycraft
 * Josiah Gardella
 * Trace George
 * Matt Goings
 * Emily James
 * Brandon MacDonald
 * Connor "Fat Slaps" O'Brien
 * Christiana Patterson