Birthmarks, the recent release from Bambara, is the demonstration of how a band can emancipate from the label attached to their music. Yes, it’s true, the post punk aura recognized to them is effectively present in their music. At the same time they exceed this definition adding elements of shoegaze and tons of pop rock taken from the eighties rather than from the new century. In Brooklyn based trio’s new album you will find different solutions that allow them to be considered as a contemporary rock band outside the fences, maintaining the underground attitude to explore the shady sides of our lives.
Twin brothers Reid Bateh (vocals, guitar) and Blaze Bateh (drums) with William Brookshire (bass) formed the band in 2007 in Athens (Georgia). Their music has been characterized by a noise attitude present in releases like Dreamviolence (2013), the one that gave the band a good reputation in the indie scene in New York. Touring with bands like Idles added experience and credibility, so much that Joe Talbot (Idles) considered their album Shadow Of Everything (2018) his favorite of the year. With Stray (2020) their will to explore the many sides of underground rock was put into 10 direct as much as imaginative songs: a ticket to get into the scene led by bands like Been Stellar.
Birthmarks is their fifth album, out for Bella Union and produced by Graham Sutton (Bark Psychosis, These New Puritans). It is a collective work, with contributions from Emma Acs and Madeline Johnston (vocals), Jeff Tobias (sax), Marilou Donavon (harp), confirming the intention to create different musical solutions around the definition of post punk.
“Hiss”, the opener, starts with the voice in evidence over a layer of keyboards giving a sense of dramatic uncertainty for a fundamental but elusive meeting: “Can’t recall the time of year/But the cars I could hear seemed to slowly steer, like they were driving on frozen roads”. Female chorus adds a romantic posture to a very fresh and powerful track.
“Letters from Sing Sing” has a speed and a guitar wall that recalls some of the best episodes from Editors or Bloc Party while “Holy Bones” seems a tribute of eighties pop rock: dance beats, melody and chorus like in some INXS songs: “I’d brand your namе on my face if you asked me to, I’d kill thе winter with my shadow so your dogwoods can bloom”. “Loretta” closes the work with a post punk structure with drums and sharp guitars supporting Reid’s deep voice telling dialogues between deluded losers.
Powerful, rich of good music, contemporary as this kind of rock can be, Birthmarks is the visiting card of a band that we will hear more about.
