BDRMM
I Don’t Know (Rock Action)
As the name suggests, BDRMM started out as a bedroom project, and debut album – entitled Bedroom, naturally – bore all the hallmarks of its creation: intense, introspective, obsessive. Its follow-up, I Don’t Know, finds the band throwing open the curtains, letting the light flood in and looking to new horizons beyond the confines of shoegaze.
Sure, Pulling Stitches will still scratch that itch for bendy My Bloody Valentine guitar washes. But tellingly it’s the least interesting track on I Don’t Know, overshadowed by the likes of It’s Just A Bit Of Blood (Radiohead with a rocket up ‘em) and We Fall Apart’s dreamy motorik. Most remarkable is the nimble, busy opener Alps, a temporary but fruitful diversion into dance.
BDRMM’s evolution was signalled by the move from Sonic Cathedral to Mogwai’s Rock Action, and instrumental Advertisement One – a dense layering of piano, synth drone and electronic noise – feels like both a tribute to their tourmates and new label bosses and a signpost for where they may be heading next.
words BEN WOOLHEAD