Hull-based dream pop/psych/shoegaze band Bdrmm have announced the release of their third studio album ‘Microtonic‘.
Along with the announcement the band have also aired their brand new single “John on the Ceiling“. The follow-up to last year’s ‘I Don’t Know‘, recorded with long-term band collaborator Alex Greaves (Working Men’s Club, Bo Ningen), will be out on February 28 through Rock Action Records. Pre-order your copy here.
“I think this is the best thing we’ve ever done, it’s a proper step up.” It’s immediately clear that the Hull band have broken new ground on Microtonic. “The last album was essentially like a bridge between the two albums. With that one we knew what we were trying to do but with this one we’ve fully cracked it.”
Bdrmm’s trademark sound hasn’t disappeared by any means, the band’s more guitar-heavy beginnings a blueprint and influence on many of the groups breaking through in the here and now, a time when shoegaze is enjoying its strongest revival since its inception in the 80s, but those guitars are now incorporated into a broader, more expansive and varied sonic palette. Microtonic, features guest appearances from Working Men’s Club and Olivesque of Nightbus.
“We wanted to create a record that encapsulates the dystopian elements of the modern world we’re living in. Creating a meld of the uncanny, escapism and the anxiety that seems to act as a constant fog nowadays. It’s a record we’re incredibly proud of, and arguably our best work. Diving more into the left field inspirations, we have finally honed our sound. This is bdrmm.”
About “John on the Ceiling”
The pulsating, late-night feel to “John on the Ceiling” is representative of a new album that takes the band several strides forwards. Being asked to support Daniel Avery, along with a trip to Field Day for a group rave, were both instrumental moments in the band deciding to incorporate more dance music elements into a sound that had already been moving steadily towards across recent releases.
It’s a song the band had the foundations for early in their career but one that represented a direction they maybe didn’t possess the full confidence or knowhow to follow at the time. The completion of the propulsive single was to lay the groundwork for how they approached the rest of “Microtonic” and set the precedent for their third record as whole.
Vocalist and guitarist Ryan Smith had the following to say about the new single:
“The themes surrounding John on the Ceiling are that of confusion and doubt. When something ends and another starts, you lure yourself into a false sense of security that the mistakes made won’t happen again. This happens over and over until you are paralysed in limbo. Can people ever truly change?“
Check out “John on the Ceiling” below along with the album’s artwork and tracklisting.
Bdrmm “Microtonic” Tracklist:
- goit (featuring Working Men’s Club)
- John on the Ceiling
- Infinity Peaking
- Snares
- In the Electric Field (featuring Olivesque)
- Microtonic
- Clarkycat
- Sat in the Heat
- Lake Disappointment
- The Noose
Photo Credit: Stew Baxter
