Bambara
Birthmarks

4.5
superb

Review

by Faraudo USER (4 Reviews)
March 26th, 2025 | 24 replies

Release Date: 03/12/2025 | Tracklist

Review Summary: With solid foundations and a clear vision, Bambara distinguishes itself in a world filled with cookie-cutter post-punk by carving out its cinematic niche with Birthmarks.

Now more than ever, post-punk is on the rise. Depending on your preferences, this might be a good or a bad trend. Many bands rest on the laurels of this resurgence, delivering run-of-the-mill efforts that repeatedly pay homage (not to say carbon copy) to The Smiths, The Cure, Interpol, or any other classic post-punk act from yesteryear. While most of these records are enjoyable and well-intended, they ultimately signal creative stagnation, not only for the bands who release them but for the genre as a whole. This latest "rise of post-punk" hasn't exactly translated to quality, but to quantity.

As I mentioned, this might be good or bad depending on how you enjoy your post-punk and its many variations. To me, it indicates a tendency that could become an issue in the future. For instance, bands like Maruja, Squid, Legss, Heartworms, FACS, Model/Actriz, Preoccupations, and Bambara are all quite different but worthy of mention since they represent what the genre can achieve when moving beyond autopilot and exploring interesting sounds.

Bambara has been around for a while now, but they got their break with 2020's Stray, an album that explored the band's gothic and decadent, yet somewhat romantic and alluring sensibilities in full force. It's a standout album that feels both carefully constructed and spontaneous, evoking an older era while also remaining in touch with modern sounds. It took the band five years to follow Stray with a full-length LP, and for many, myself included, that feels like a long time. Despite that, the album never left my playlists, and I continued to discover its many subtleties. For the band, it represented an initial exploration of a more cinematic sound, which is fully realized and brought to fruition with Birthmarks.

"Pray To Me" was the logical choice for the album's first single. It is the "safer bet" in terms of sound, yet it feels like a seamless continuation of the band's established style. Tracks like "Letters From Sing Sing" and "Dive Shrine" explore classic post-punk sounds laced with the band's distinct brand of darkness and nihilism, showcasing an array of intense rhythms, dissonant guitars, and sharp bass lines.

In contrast, songs such as "Face of Love" (featuring unexpected vocals from Midwife), "Because You Asked," "Elena's Dream," and "Holy Bones" incorporate cinematic elements, arpeggios, sampled narrated vocals, trumpets, and other sounds that create a distinct atmosphere, showcasing the band's embrace of its cinematic side. Reid Bateh's vocals are crucial to the record, as he paints a vivid and evocative picture with his precise delivery and Lost Highway-esque lyrics.

Birthmarks feels like a complete modern post-punk offering, not only for its respectful veneration of genre masters but also for its unique and rather prolific combination of fresh elements that completely shake up the formula. It's not a reinvention by any means but rather a reaffirmation of established sounds and a consistent exploration. By further embracing the aesthetics of Southern Gothic stories and the sounds of the city, Bambara has finally delivered on their promise and released their best, most cinematic record to date.

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