Don’t mind the mess. Refusing to clear up the splashes of blood, the cracks of dry paint bdrmm appear comfortable with on their recent single, is an assured approach. It’s Just a Bit of Blood is, after all, just a bit of bdrmm. Pay no attention to the scatterings of split arteries, there is enough incredibly persuasive dream-pop harshness to distract from the massacre. As grand a wakeup call as there ever was, bdrmm provides their latest single with all the confidence needed for this guitar-heavy, post-punk style. They are not ones for labels but there we are, something to get people on side of bdrmm before they explode with their upcoming album, I Don’t Know.
If there were ever a time to mount some faith and back a band, it would be now and it would be bdrmm. Turn your brain around, and relax into the fine engineering essentials Alex Greaves brings to a white-hot band looking to dig their claws in. It’s Just a Bit of Blood is incredibly difficult to ignore. Intense, gifted guitar work is the real drive here, and bdrmm, more than anything, provide real depth to their colourful singles sleeve. It is a project which feels whole, accomplished and pure. Don’t mind the mess. Trust in their music and feel the benefits put right back in the hands and hearts of listeners. Thumping electronics underline It’s Just a Bit of Blood like an aggravated heartbeat. Where does the heart go, though? Applicable in most cases of heartbreak, horror or otherwise, bdrmm have both a pointed and sincere turn to their adaptable lyrics.
Such is the goal of dream pop and the influence it has on the minds and hearts of the listener. To be comforted is no longer enough and bdrmm knows that. Challenging the curve, bringing it into some sense of disrepute or fear, that is the game for It’s Just a Bit of Blood and what makes this an essential listening experience soon bubbles to the top. Two steps forward, three years back they warn. Little steps in the right direction are no good if a sonic blast batters the listener so far back their progress is futile. It’s Just a Bit of Blood is upbeat and strong enough in its pace to maintain that call to arms, to bring back a side of being, instilling a need to make an effort.
Effort is futile though, isn’t it? It’s Just a Bit of Blood maintains its title as a warning of this call to arms. It may just be a bit of blood, but that bit of blood is still a sign of wounded animals cowering from their experience. But bdrmm is on hand to smack the process out and instil self-respect deep within their listeners in the hopes their movement shakes off some desire to curl up and give in. Find yourself and keep on pushing is the positive message buried deep beneath exceptional playing style, well-formed intensities and the feral howls of guitar licks used as the forefront of expression. Nicely worked, and nothing less should be expected of bdrmm at this stage.
