Bedfellows - World Apart
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| 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.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/bedfellowsband