Review Summary: shoegaze band decides to be interesting
My general take on music (and life tbh) is that things get better when more gaze gets added. More reverb, more drem, more indistinguishable vocals: that kind of thing. bdrmm might just be the sole (I repeat: sole!!!) exception to this rule. The band’s debut was deeply gazey and perfectly decent if somewhat forgettable, but follow up
I Don’t Know featured some more electronically textured tracks that felt a cut above the usual distortion (well, mostly “Alps”). While that record didn’t fully realise the promises of its opener, the brand new
Microtonic does. This is a wonderful dissociation of an album, firmly rooted in all things hazy but daring enough to be explicitly straightforward: call it a little more post punk, a little more psychedelic, a little more distinct.
As such,
Microtonic comprises three modes: the bangin’, the meandering, and the plain catchy. Some songs fall squarely into one of those categories: “Infinity Peaking” is pure hook while the title track offers nothing but sheer dissonance, but bdrmm are at their very best when they’re constructing multi-faceted songs that float in and out of the different modes. “John on the Ceiling” is an instantly memorable cut, introducing itself with a delightfully hypnotic beat before blending in the band’s trademark reverb. Moreover, it features a neatly distinguished, layered chorus that manages to elevate things at just the right times: Ryan Smith’s gorgeous falsetto feels like a real treat after navigating the beautifully delirious soundscape for over two minutes. Similarly, “Lake Disappointment” might just be the most interesting thing the band have ever recorded. It’s punchy as all hell, while offering some instantly catchy yet unexpected melodies: in essence, it’s the kind of risk the band’s sound has been begging for for ages.
In spite of its more defined nature,
Microtonic is an entirely immersive affair. There’s tiny sonic motifs littered across the record, connecting each moment to the next and making everything feel like one well-rounded experience. There are some points where the meandering-mode takes the upper hand for a little too long - “In the Electric Field” and “Clarkycat” slightly overstay their welcome - but ultimately it’s easy to pass off lesser moments as feeding into the album’s overall dissociative atmosphere. In short, bdrmm have managed to take their weakness (slightly unexciting shoegaze) and turn it into a strength (...it’s part of the experience!).
Microtonic is an excellent leap forward and caters to the niche’s niche of
drem fans who don’t like being understimulated. Sweet.
