Anyone in this area who's seen Bed Maker has witnessed one of the best live acts this city has produced in ages. The fiery attack of this four-piece has provided evidence of just how much juice is still left in this scene's engine. A full-length album is finally here and the question is, does Bed Maker, out tomorrow on Dischord, do justice to this outfit's power?
The Bed Maker M.O. is simple: emotive and energetic vocals from Amanda MacKaye (Desiderata), around which Jeff Barsky (Insect Factory) unleashes fury and feeling on his guitar. All this is held together by the tight rhythm section of Arthur Noll (bass) and Vin Novara (drums), both from Alarms and Controls, among others. There's a directness here that recalls the best records on this imprint fron the Nineties, when the angular post-punk of a band like Q And Not U seemed to be pointing this label in new directions. And how are Bed Maker inspiring the same sort of shift now?
I would suggest that the nearly fusion-y interplay of instruments near the end of "Ballad of Tokitae" indicates a dexterity that moves the harDCore paradigm forward a few steps. Elsewhere, the Big Black-ish "Two Captains" rejects that same complexity for force and power, deployed in a joyously straightforward reclamation of that kind of archaic macho punk, only sung by a woman. Amanda MacKaye sings with such controlled rage (?) that it's almost amazing that the Bed Maker experience could be captured on record. And while there's so much here that absolutely roars, it's a pleasant surprise to find more nuanced numbers on Bed Maker, like "Seasonal Restitution" which finds Barksy deploying plucked notes atop scattershot drums from Novara and liquid bass from Noll.
Having seen Bed Maker live a bunch of times, I'm pleasantly surprised at how well Bed Maker captures the band's power, as well as offers something new. While the opening blast of "Two Left Feet" opens up a whirlwind, the skittering hooks of "Artful Dodger" soon follow to reveal Bed Maker's more subtle strengths. The secret to this band is that interplay between unleashed and coiled punk energy. Throughout Bed Maker, there's the warmth of a live performance heard, and spaces where each member of this band can reveal skills maybe not discerned so easily in a concert setting. I'm happy that I'm hearing new things here from Bed Maker, and certainly very happy to hear that their familiar fury is captured on record finally.
Bed Maker by Bed Maker is out on May 31 via Dischord. You can order it via Bandcamp below too.
[me, at Rhizome, 2023]