The shapeshifting single, taken from the forthcoming 'So Medieval,' pulls us in all sorts of directions and anticipates one of 2024's essential releases.
Photo: Michael Julings | Words: Lloyd Bolton
Blue Bendy are one of the most unique bands in London today, creating masterfully unpredictable music. Arthur Nolan's drawling vocals are rare competitors to those of Isaac Wood, while the band's structural ambition and execution is second to none. Their songs make people write horrible things like "Nolan dances all over splayed post-rock and micro-cataclysms" (The Guardian), but unfortunately that is about as close as our language can get to describing it at the moment.
With 'Come On Baby, Dig!' they announce their debut album 'So Medieval' with a typically dense collection of ideas flying in all directions and contained somehow within one track. Scratching guitars are redolent of the post-punk revivalism of the past few years, but the band don't trade off of that. Olivia Morgan's synth lines bring out something more genuinely contemporary about this track, situating the music alongside the likes of King Krule and any number of Slow Dance alumni. Along with Oscar Tebbutt's drums, they also help us make sense of a song that bounces between sounding like the best of the extended Speedy Wunderground universe, Prefab Sprout and modern chart music.
Those used to such contradictions and confusion from live shows and recent releases will look forward with anticipation to the release of 'So Medieval,' which releases in April on state51, and also features recent singles 'Mr. Bubblegum' and 'Cloudy.'
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