By Stan Cierlitsky
Hull band bdrmm have just offered up their third album, Microtonic on Mogwai's Rock Action Records. I have to admit that I'm a bit late to the party when it comes to this group. Several friends have been sharing their music with me over the last few years, and while I always seemed to enjoy the songs, they never really hit my radar. That all changed last year when they released the single "John on the Ceiling". I hopped on this one myself and when I first heard it, I had to wonder if there were two bands called bdrmm. "John on the Ceiling" is a more polished version of the band I knew, and the cut incorporates pulsing sounds and pop keyboards. Once I read the press release, that made a lot more sense; Frontman Ryan Smith states that this record is their "most fully realized work to date." He also mentioned that he has really been focusing on electronic music, and that's pretty apparent here.
The second single from this one is called "Infinity Peaking" and this track reminds me "Higher Than The Sun" by Primal Scream. It’s not as dance-y, but it certainly has much of the same vibe. Honestly, the coolest thing about bdrmm is how much they sound like other groups I love, while never sounding like a ripoff. I was telling a friend, I could imagine that if my kids were in a band they would probably sound a lot like bdrmm after being subjected to my record collection all their lives.
The first half of Microtonic is as good as probably any record I will hear this year. In addition to the two singles I already mentioned, they venture into more new territory with two songs featuring guest singers, including one which is also my favorite song on the album. The opening track "goit" features singer Syd Minsky-Sargeant from Working Men's Club. The spoken word, electronic mashup is shockingly good, and again reaffirms this is not the bdrmm you thought you knew. Although with that being said, fans of the band will likely point out that their second album I Don't Know certainly began foreshadowing this current direction in evolution.
The other song featuring a guest singer is called "In the Electric Field" and features Olivesque. I really think this song could get some attention. Again, if this were my kids' band I can only imagine they fell into my Cocteau Twins, Delgados, and Chapterhouse records when they wrote it. This is an amazing track.
My favorite of this opening stretch of the album is probably "Snares", a track which starts out with an Aphex Twin-like beat, then comes in with beautiful subtle speak-singing that reminds me of Neil Tennent from the Pet Shop Boys. Again, listen to "Gush" or "Happy" from their first album and let it sink in that this is the same band. I think it's interesting that their most Mogwai-sounding song "Momo" comes from that first album, but now that they've signed to Mogwai's record label, the similarities are a little harder to spot. On the title track, you might hear a little Mogwai mixed with a little of the newest Cure album.
I could go on and on about this record. I haven't dwelt too much on the second half of the album but it does include a few great songs, like single "Lake Disappointment", and "Clarkycat", another favorite of mine from this album.
Microtonic by bdrmm is out now via Rock Action.
[Photo: bdrmm Bandcamp]