Bedsit Poets - 'London Town'
Reminisce on the past with Bedsit Poets’ “London Town,” their latest single released ahead of their album, All Roads Lead Me Back, out on 2nd February via Think Like A Key.
The collaboration of English artists Edward Rogers and Amanda Thorpe, with Bedsit Poets being given to them by The Zombies’ Colin Blunstone, has blossomed into this wonderful new track, offering laid-back folk with psychedelic pop and subtle jazz notes. “London Town” is an achingly tender reflection on the artists’ London chapters; Thorpe still living there. Accompanying Rogers and Thorpe are a wide range of artists who have played with the likes of Laurie Anderson, John Cale, Ian Hunter, Graham Parker, Ronnie Spector, and Sparks, offering a large selection of creative talent to this album (and single).
Sweet guitar from James Mastro and the hearty, luscious bass from Sal Maida provide a bittersweet nostalgia, and Konrad Meissner’s relaxed drums act as a soft, relaxed backdrop. Touches of harmonica and horns are the cherry on top, sprinkled in between the musical arrangement. Traces of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and The Velvet Underground are at present, too.
The line, “My initials in the concrete where the brownstones used to be,” indicates Rogers left his mark in London years ago, now feeling saddened at how much has changed over time. The city he once knew is no more; his past is gone; what he experienced there as a younger man is now replaced by concrete slabs. Yet, his impact is still there, although more intangible; his memory. Thorpe sings, “There’s no place left for me in this society/Skyrocket rent so you got to work the ground/Just to make sure the payment’s on time,” detailing feeling left out of a place that was once her home. The melancholic instruments mirror this sentiment. Thorpe feels she can’t stay in London anymore; money has become more important than human shelter and the happiness she once felt living there has left. A deep longing for a return to the past lingers in this song. Rogers and Thorpe’s shared relationship with London has reunited them, although with much sadness.
The music video features a black-and-white montage of London scenery, train tracks, and clips of the wistful duo singing and sitting together. There’s a sombre beauty to the desolate landscape, akin to the music; in all its depression, something timeless and immovable remains.
This nostalgic piece is a testament to our long-gone personal histories, watching how we and our beloved cities shapehift over time. It’s about watching history be rewritten right in front of one’s own eyes and being unable to change a thing; only able to grasp onto what once was through the aid of memory. Bedsit Poets have conveyed these unsettling changes well with “London Town.”
Words by Sydney Kaster
