Album Review: Microtonic by bdrmm

A bold, complete reinvention, messy in places, beautiful in others, and constantly in motion. A first step towards greatness on the band's own terms With Microtonic, Hull's bdrmm have made the kind of record that demands attention – not because it shouts the loudest, but because it confidently tears up the band's trademark sound and tosses it across the room like confetti. Across their first two albums, bdrmm became known for their intriguing, (somewhat) original spin on the classic shoegaze sound: reverb-drenched guitars, hazy textures, and barely distinguishable lyrics that always seemed to peer inward.

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Microtonic is a marked shift from bdrmm's first two albums, 2020's Bedroom and 2023's I Don't Know. The new album shows a noticeable loosening of the tension that permeated the band's earlier work. While the post-shoegaze/dream pop DNA is still very much present, it’s been infused with a newfound sense of spaciousness, a relaxed, almost psychedelic vibe.

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With Microtonic, the UK-based bdrmm revisit the dreamy textures and edgy swirls of 2020's Bedroom and 2023's I Don't Know, more fully adopting an electronic and instrumental emphasis. Opening track "John on the Ceiling" places synth-y drones and accents on center stage, flirting with lite dystopianism. "Infinity Peaking" merges the celestial and foreboding, synths unfurling as alternately reverb-y and serrated.

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Outgrowing their shoegaze inclinations, bdrmm have stepped into their own on their new album 'Microtonic'. The record branches out into a kaleidoscopic landscape of electronic experimentation as they delve into introspections on living in a dystopia. Opener 'goit' boasts a Working Men's Club feature and nails the feeling of a growing age of anxiety, tense in electronic stuttering and chillingly paranoid synth melodies.

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