Yearning for epiphany: Bedsit release debut EP and announce headline tour
‘BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Hull band Bedsit, who are about to release their debut EP and embark on a headline tour
The Crow’s Nest, a music column by Russ Litten
Bedsit: Dead Bands EP review
Hull band Bedsit release their EP Dead Bands on February 3rd. They describe it thus:
“Dead Bands is about the chaos and uncertainty of modern times, the struggle for meaning and motivation. We all have the sense that something isn’t right. Often, we get cynical and angry. But occasionally, we get a glimpse of the magical - a moment of ecstasy - and that relief is worth living for. This is our first EP as a full band.
“The title track is a celebration of the heritage of live music. From gigantic rockstars who inspired generations, to local artists who you think never got the exposure they deserved, they were all answering the same calling: blessed release. How those burning passions, die as they may, continue to smoulder in the hearts of strangers inspiring generations of sympathetic joy and creativity.”
“Blessed release” is an interesting concept. It suggests an aching for some kind of spiritual transcendence. This is not something your average local rock band aspires to, let alone admits. It’s a refreshing angle, and I openly applaud it. None of that “we-just-do-what-we-do-and-if-anyone-else-likes-it-that’s-a-bonus” mumbling indie nonsense for these fellas.
Bedsit want to rip the stars down from the sky, swallow them whole and spit them back into your ears. This yearning for epiphany finds expression in their tightly wound, full-throated rock-metal roar, all jackhammer beats and strangled, screaming guitars. But this is not just noise for the sake of annoying. Bedsit wrench their hearts out of their chest and wear them still bloody and beating on their sleeves. It’s relentless, pulverising and wholly transfixing.
First track Drip Feed opens with a squall of feedback before launching into a breathless, two-chord punk rock thrash. Singer Tom sounds deliriously, deliciously unhinged, screaming, laughing and arguing with himself like a man being chased by a clown with a chainsaw. It reminds me of Therapy?; that glorious rush of molten metal noise married to melody that makes rock music, moulded in the right hands, such an exhilarating experience.
Go Outside is redolent of Husker Du in their imperial Warehouse: Songs and Stories phase. That same soaring sense of urgency and effortless gear changes as the band sling themselves around breakneck bends. It all climaxes to a righteous, howling frenzy, before gradually grinding to an exhausted stop in writhing death throes of sputtering, spitting guitars, like a rattlesnake with a broken back. Exhilarating stuff.
Dead Bands is the title track, and as such carries a mournful, almost Gothic import. There are hints of Pearl Jam here, that same sense of heroic bruised maleness, but this is no inward looking pity party. Dead Bands is a tribute to anyone who tried to make a difference, whether they succeeded or not. It’s about the death of dreams (“the universe collapsed”), and as such has a distinctly elegiac feel. There’s a more adventurous sense of dynamics on this one. The foot is taken off the gas, space opens up and the guitars are weeping rather than screaming. Dead Bands is an aching epic, perhaps their best song yet. It sounds like an open wound.
Eloquent starts off at almost Napalm Death speed, lead singer Tom roaring “F*** this shit life” over what sounds like a demented gunman firing an automatic weapon into a drum kit. Things get a bit more intense after that, the mantra being repeated with increasing ferocity. The song ends in a mock, sardonic show-band ending. It’s a nice touch. Bedsit obviously take their music deadly seriously, but don’t make the mistake of applying the same to themselves. Maybe it’s another symptom of their raw self-awareness. Whatever - it ends the EP with a wry smile and a positive sense of confidence that bodes well for the future.
With repeated plays, the Dead Bands EP reveals layer after layer of detail beneath the sonic assault. Bedsit clearly mean business. Buy their music. Go down and see them on their upcoming tour. Join them on their quest for ecstatic release. The times we live in may be ugly, but this is a beautiful noise.
BEDSIT TOUR
FEBRUARY
Fri 10 HUDDERSFIELD Northern Quarter
Thu 16 SHEFFIELD Washington
Fri 17 BRADFORD Underground
Sat 18 HULL Dive
Fri 24 SCARBOROUGH Indigo Alley
Sat 25 STOCKTON NE Volume Bar
MARCH
Sun 19 HULL New Adelphi Club
Sat 25 SCUNTHORPE Café Indie