BAMBARA - Shadow On Everything

BAMBARA is an incredibly noisy, ferocious band from Athens Georgia, and I first heard these guys around the time of their "Dreamviolence" debut album.  And yea, I think this was a fitting title in every way.  The music here was often surreal and hazy, as BAMBARA traveled from one noisy genre to the next.  But this album was also brutal and intense, hence the "violence" in "Dreamviolence".  There were Industrial passages, as well as Post Punk and Noise Rock.  But what BAMBARA did so well, was fuse this all together with peaceful, serene passages as well, literally getting your guard down.  The result was seriously exciting and often incredibly mysterious, and a genuinely interesting debut album. 2017's "Swarm" though, now that was a tasty little Post Punk project.  This album was cleaned up a bit and a whole lot more focused sounding.  But most importantly, it seemed to me like BAMBARA had been boning up on their Goth Rock.   Bauhaus, Type O Negative, you name it, it was here.  But there was still a very hectic, grimy feel to this album.  Overall, while I was mildly curious to see where BAMBARA would go next at first, I was totally interested in them by the time "Swarm" was over.  So BAMBARA is back, with some of their darkest, most Gothic songs yet, but bringing in some Art-Rock as well.  Fans of Iceage, take note!  Let's chat!

    This album starts off with “Dark Circles”, and right off the bat, I’m sucked in.  In every way, this sticks with you, from the pounding drums, winding steel guitars, and Reid Bateh’s hypnotic vocals that get inside your head instantly.  I absolutely love how dreary and noisy this is.  It’s moments like this that remind me just how fantastic Post-Punk can be when it takes it’s time.  Obviously, this intro takes patience, but it just gets inside you so well. “Dark Circles” may not be the most exciting intro you’ve heard all year, but it sets the tone for this album exceptionally.  “Doe-Eyed Girl” however very quickly breaks things up.  There are elements of Southern Rock here, but with that incredibly dense atmosphere still.  Fans of Iceage, specifically “The Lords Favorite” need to take note NOW.  It’s wild and off-the-rails, but it’s easily some of the most exciting Post-Punk I’ve heard all year.  Reid’s vocals here come off so tortured and bring in an almost Gothic flair to this all.  That, as well as that almost constant Southern feel, give BAMBARA a sound that you quite simply need to hear.  It’s tortured, aggressive, and most of all intense.  Nothing is safe when “Doe-Eyed Girl” is on, and it absolutely rips.  With “Jose Tries to Leave”, the atmosphere on this album remains just so dense.  I love just how dreary and tortured this all comes off.  Reid here sounds freakin’ psychotic and manic with his very wordy performance.  So far, this is probably the most straightforward Post-Punk tune here.  But I just love the narrative here, it makes me feel like I’m watching some super gritty Horror movie.  Not to mention, there’s almost a bluesy element to this with all of those wailing guitars.  One things for sure, BAMBARA are just so good at bringing together sounds that usually don’t go together at all, and it sounds brutal.  Then we get our first interlude, “Night’s Changing”.  I love the glistening synths here, it just makes this track so vast sounding.  It almost has a slight Sci-Fi feel to it, which actually comes off really great.  But the amount of tension here is absolutely gigantic.  This could easily be a sort of hopeful break from the album, but little details like those electrical sound effects and the suffocating atmosphere let us know that the darkest is yet to come. 

    This album rolls on with “Monument”, and it’s becoming clear that this album is absolutely off the rails.  BAMBARA don’t stray too far from that Southern sound, and I actually really love the way this comes off like a raucous rocker.  But Reid continues to bring this down a few notches and ends up making this much darker and intense.  Now, personally, this reminds me of other tunes here and I sort of wish they would maybe get a little more diverse.  But Reid ends up reeling me back in with just how incredibly wild this track comes off.  I haven’t heard Post-Punk this tortured in a long time, and it’s brilliant.  On the other hand, “The Door Between Her Teeth” breaks off from the Southern sounds for a few minutes to create easily the most straightforward Punk tune here.  This is easily BAMBARA at their most frantic and wild, and Reid sounds like he’s well beyond his breaking point.  There are a few southern tinged guitars in the background that are basically just around to let you know who the hell you’re dealing with.  But this tune is short and to the point, and easily one of the more gripping tunes here.  BAMBARA continue on with “Human Hair”, but more importantly don’t waste a second of the time they’re given.  This instrumental has me on the edge of my seat.  Yea, it may sound ripped right from the Stranger Things soundtrack, but it’s a powerful interlude that keeps the tone of this album going.  BAMBARA’s use of pacing is absolutely incredible.  “Steel Dust Ocean” is so slow and drawn out, almost like a horror movie where you know damn well that something is about to pop out, and the anticipation is driving you nuts.  As far as a legitimately cool performance goes, Reid is at his best here.   Here, his vocals get inside your head, and the strings backing him up to make this come off gigantic.  “Steel Dust Ocean” is incredibly dreary, as BAMBARA continue to soundtrack the darkest Spaghetti Western you’ve ever seen.

    The drama on this album is actually a huge selling point.  I love the pacing on “Sunbleached Skulls”, and the way it pumps up quickly into a Punk Blues jam, obviously with a Southern twist.  It’s dark, visceral, and it’s completely unforgiving.  Also, while so much of Post Punk is is a genre built around insanity and darkness, there’s such a realness to this album.  Reid sounds like a damn madman and an animal, and I can’t get enough of it. Now, of all the tunes here, “Wild Fires” is probably my least favorite.  I like the campy synths, and just how unnerving this all is.  But the production of this track has taken a turn for the worse.  I don’t think every tune needs to be so hulking and heavy, but this track just seems flimsy.  At least Reid’s very ghoulish and evil performance is great.  But everything else about this track just feels like if you pushed it, it would collapse immediately.  But with “Backyard”, immediately were right back in that Zone of BAMBARA.  This is one of the bleakest tracks here, with some incredibly drawn out and dangerous sounding vocals.  But at the same time, however truly horrifying this track is, there’s a great sorrow behind it.  Even the female backing vocals from Lyzi Wakefield come off so ghoulish.  This track is a nightmare, a depressing nightmare, but it works so well for BAMBARA.  And they aren’t done with us yet.  “Back Home” is the most mysterious track here.  There’s actually a ton of danger in this steadily paced tune.   Reid takes his time on this one, not even showing up for the first half.  But when he comes in, he sounds as twisted as ever.  I just love how dark and sweaty “Back Home” is, I can’t help but listen to this and think of the bar from Twin Peaks and be worried that something awful was about to happen.  Honestly?  I can’t think of a better way to end the album.

Rating: 8.7/10

Give A Listen To: "Dark Circles", " Jose Tries to Leave", "Sunbleached Skulls", "Steel Dust Ocean"

Genre: Post Punk / Punk Blues / Southern Gothic / Gothic Rock 

Overall Thoughts:  BAMBARA have come out of their Noisy cocoon they made for themselves years ago, making for easily the grizzliest Post-Punk album you're going to hear all year.  This album is absolutely dreary and often incredibly intense.  But BAMBARA is originally Southern boys and have brought in numerous elements of Southern Rock to make this album even more emotional and often more tortured sounding.  This could have easily been just another Post-Punk album, easily.  But BAMBARA have taken the sound and given it a dangerous, surreal new twist and I can't wait to see where they're taking it next.