Album Review: bdrmm - 'microtonic'
Hull based band bdrmm step into new territory with their beautifully immersive new album ‘Microtonic’.
Known for their dreamy blend of shoegaze, post-rock, and ambient influences, bdrmm have gained a solid reputation within the music industry since their 2020 debut ‘Bedroom’. Drawing comparisons to bands such as Slowdive and DIIV, their music is filled to the brim with reverb-soaked guitars, ethereal vocals, and a skill for balancing introspective lyrics with euphoric soundscapes. With each release, bdrmm continue to push the boundaries of modern shoegaze while staying true to their roots.
Starting off strong is ‘goit – goit’. Featuring Working Men’s Club, the bands have combined their immersive skill sets to produce a hypnotic and sinister track to introduce the album. It’s dark and pulsing, perfect for an underground club or futuristic horror film. Lyrics such as ‘Distractions/Spasms/Terror/Death/It all happened’ set the tone for a hauntingly good album.
Continuing the synth-driven nature is ‘John on the Ceiling’. It’s upbeat, light, and impossible to stay still to. As the track title suggests, the soft, dreamy synths and distant repetition of drumbeats makes it feel as if you’re in an alternate dimension and everything has been flipped on its head.
Returning to a heavier, slower tone, is ‘Infinity Peaking’. Having already been released as a single, this track has successfully lured supporters into the world of ‘Microtonic’ and has got both old and new fans on the edge of their seats for the upcoming album release on February 28th. Speaking on the track, guitarist and vocalist Ryan Smith says "Infinity Peaking perfectly encapsulates the band we were and the band we are now, that careful balance of shoegaze and electronica… It's a track that is full of true joy (despite the lyrics) and it was a pleasure to work on in the studio. It's one that we felt we could really get into the experimentation on, especially in the long spanning mid-section. We're always happiest when we're sat on the floor of the studio surrounding the latest pedal we bought, each dying to have a pass on it."
Heading into the middle section of the album, ‘Snares’ serves as a gentle, ethereal runway into the second of the two songs featuring another artist, ‘In The Electric Field (featuring Olivesque)’. The layed-back, borderline spoken word delivery of the lyrics gives it a therapeutic, insightful touch – perfect for the halfway mark of the album. Despite being the longest running track out of all ten songs, it maintains its interest and intrigue with a beautiful crescendo up to the last couple minutes – drowning in distorted guitar and synth-heavy melodies that propel you into the title track of the album.
‘Microtonic’ is one of those songs that leaves you questioning how the band would be able to take the studio recording and turn it into a live performance. Taking inspiration from Radiohead’s ‘The King of Limbs (Live from the Basement)’, bass and synth player Jordan Smith says ‘The direction bdrmm has been going in the past few years required a holistic incorporation of electronics rather than a complete replacement of traditional instrumentation, which left us scratching our heads how to get it to work until we watched this. With From the Basement, we could visualise how each member of the band responded to the album arrangement in a live setting, and how this could be used within our own live performance.’
‘Clarkycat’ calls for the return of the futuristic club music vibe. It’s a perfect balance between slow builds and pacey, rhythmic instrumentals.
Continuing the film-like essence, ‘Sat in the Heat’ is possibly the most musically upbeat track of the album and feels like the blissful ending in a coming of age film. Despite detached and existential lyrics such as ‘All too far away is a way out/In the sweetest form of escape/Waking from this dream that never ends/Is that our perfect way of leaving?’, it maintains a lightness and idea of escapism with stunning synth progressions.
The penultimate song ‘Lake Disappointment’ unfolds with a slow, meditative pulse - its repetition drawing in the listener into a dreamlike state. There’s an almost weightless quality to the track, as if it’s moving between a space of reality and reflection, and arguably one of the most immersive pieces created by bdrmm to date.
‘The Noose’ ends the album on an inevitably haunting tone. It feels final, hopeless, and undeniably cinematic. For an album quite literally bursting at the seams with ideas and passion for the band’s next step within the industry, this song ties the LP together and wraps it all up into one wonderfully composed coherent thought.
‘Microtonic’ is an album that has once again pushed the boundaries of what bdrmm are capable of as a band. It’s clean, well-produced, and in the words of frontman Ryan Smith, ‘This is what bdrmm sound like’ – so hang tight until February 28th, when you can let loose and travel into the alternate, dance-filled dimension of ‘Microtonic’.
Words by Cameron Cookson
