BEDFELLOWS - EP REVIEW

Bedfellows - World Apart 
Bedfellows - World Apart

Brooklyn is supposed to be the centre of the musical universe at the moment, if you believe everything you read which I absolutely do. Bedfellows are three fine gents who hail from this particular corner of New York but, weirdly, they seem to be channelling the electro beats of late 80s/ early 90s Manchester. Opening track 'Like A Hostage' is pure New Order, even down to the slightly uninterested vocals, and that's no bad thing. 'Coming Up' is a little more lively and upbeat, something akin to Vampire Weekend trying to write a new theme tune for a revamped version of Saved By The Bell. The drum and bass combination that opens 'Receiver' is pure 80s fodder and, if I didn't know better, I'd swear that Peter 'Hooky' Hook was slinging his bass as low as is humanly possible to churn out the bass line. What Bedfellows do nicely is mix the synths and beats of the 80s UK dance scene with more modern guitars whilst keeping the vocals firmly in the moody and cool section of the musical kitchen. 'As She Whispers' is a particular triumph that could be ABC or Heaven 17 until the guitars kick in and bring things more up to date. That blend of old technology and more contemporary guitar techniques creates a unique and perplexing sound. Final track, 'Range Of Love', is a seven minute indie-dance-pop romp that could easily be a young Michael Stipe trying out different styles of music before settling on whatever it was R.E.M. settled on. Bedfellows have definitely got something and it's the kind of something I would expect to hear on late night radio driving home from a gig in my car which is a great place to find nuggets of genius from around the world. As is this blog.



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