bdrmm – John on the Ceiling Review

A band willing to make storytelling not just the all-consuming aspect of their album but of their social presence is a band worth listening to. Those glimmers of positivity, the thin veneer of hope heard on I Don’t Know continues its contemplative growth. But alongside it comes a mystery which is embedded in the band’s push for that sweet pay-off of a third album. A suggestion of what the future may hold and how we may need to feel our way through a science-heavy, exploited world to give ourselves a fighting chance. This is a wider concept expanding from John on the Ceiling, the band’s lead single which finds electronic manipulation joys pairing well with its drum machine pangs and introspective writing style. What more could we want from one of the most promising bands around? 

Their indietronica reliance here feels like a sweet tip to their earliest works but never like an exploitation of a sound which was very much of the times. Not dated, no, but built and maintained in a period of global isolation and pandemic worries. John on the Ceiling, and bdrmm as a result, are pushing for the thrills of a reawakened society, a sense of becoming your true self after years of stress and strife. There is a sense of living true to this message, this acceptance of always evolving, heard in John on the Ceiling. A frontman like Ryan Smith makes it clear that conforming to the usual genre tropes and sticking to their guns was just not an option. John on the Ceiling benefits thoroughly from this fear of repetition. Its club-like introduction and the soft but definite sinister feeling, the slow crawl into a burst of blinding light and electronic fusion is masterfully handled.  

Once more into the breach is no excuse for repetition. John on the Ceiling, and bdrmm as a wider concept, finds new life and a lot to love about the fresh direction this sound is taking them. Not so far removed from the thrills of their previous works but different enough to ask new questions, to feel for a refreshing sip of new influences. Our fascinations and the desire for self-completion are sounded off well by Smith. Lyrics of dissatisfaction and what we can do to shake off the malaise, to fight tooth and nail for a new, positive perspective. It all comes to a head with some tremendously catchy and ever-growing instrumental changes from the band.  

They are not quite ready to depart their shoegaze sound, holding onto it with a gentler grip than before, but it is still there for those with clearer hearing than most. Drum machines and a heavier electronic beat are the real charms, though, the obvious changes made by bdrmm are risky but are paying off exceptionally well. A welcome return for one of Hull’s finest outputs, beyond Thieving Harry’s and Delirium Red on tap. John on the Ceiling is a tremendous song which grows and grows into those daily anxieties, the emotional chase which can eat up hours better spent elsewhere. bdrmm are not warning us off of these moments of contemplation but are calling time on our obsession with this reflection, this necessity of growth. It is a welcome return for one of the most promising bands around.