Emanating from the same South London primordial soup that has gifted us Black Country, New Road and Squid, Blue Bendy have arrived at their debut album as a delightfully undefinable, shapeshifting band. By refusing to succumb to any pigeonhole definition, they’ve crafted a record that surprises at every turn and forces the listener to pay close attention.
At a time when being described as ‘post-punk’ can mean that you fail to stand out on your own terms, this six-piece recall the original intentions of the genre – a rulebook torn to shreds and a scorched earth canvas to do with as you please. Yes, the music on ‘So Medieval’ tends to be made of familiar core ingredients, but even Blue Bendy don’t seem sure what they’re going to do with them next.
Twinkling piano keys usher in the opening title track, only to be shuddered to a halt by a thunderous guitar chord. Frontman Arthur Nolan introduces himself by singing: “No sex, no mess, no second chance, the ceremonial setting fire to my underpants.” If you’re immediately confused, then you’re also compelled to hear more.
That song, like so much of the album it leads off, is powered by longing, melodic riffs, but the sense of an impending cataclysm is never far away. The same can be said for Nolan’s lyrics, which are arch and ironic in tone, but which also tackle the existential dread of our daily lives. ‘The Day I Said You’d Died (He Lives)’ finds him repeatedly crying out that “we’re all in pain” while also lamenting: “Oh no, I can’t feel anything.” The band’s music reflects this confusion, evoking a Victorian fairground ride in the style of The Beatles‘ ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite’ with warped guitar notes and haunting, disorienting keys.
The album is consistently athletic, too. Throughout, Blue Bendy shimmy between musical lanes at ease, flitting from the Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci-like whimsy of ‘Sunny’ to ‘Cloudy’, which blossoms from a twitchy, anxious indie track into a sweeping epic in the mould of early Sea Power. And then on ‘Mr. Bubblegum’, Nolan sings: “I can handle being the third best guitar band in London, but baby just let me be first at something.” It might be a knowing, self-deprecating quip, but with ‘So Medieval’, Blue Bendy have shown that they may just be underestimating themselves.
