When The Bedside Morale burst onto the scene with their debut single ‘Safeword’ in 2023, it immediately became clear that they were a band to keep a close eye on over the coming months. That single might’ve taken the guts of a couple of Queens of The Stone Age numbers and tempered the familiar riffs with a bigger hook or two, but the way these Bristol based lads took their influences and sharpened them suggested there was more here at stake than lazy recycling. A second single, ‘Bitter Things’ appeared before the end of the year, but fans wouldn’t get a proper EP from The Bedside Morale until the summer of 2024. By this time, everyone had spent months with those two singles rotating on playlists, ruminating the possibility of even better things ahead.
The four tracks that make up ‘Still Life’ are a near perfect snapshot of The Bedside Morale’s collective talents. The material is by turns heavy and melodic; the vocals are sharp, and the couple of featured guitar solos, sharper still. As a short showcase for a rock band on the rise, fans certainly haven’t been short-changed.
Making its debut here, ‘Early Morning Sonnet’ opens with Kynan Scott playing an unaccompanied bass groove that’s slow and measured, yet still a little funky. It immediately gives the number a strong core, over which an overdriven rhythm guitar lays down a hefty tone. There’s plenty within that which recalls the earlier singles, but it still feels like a band branching out and trying something new. It’s once vocalist Tim Kazer arrives, of course, that everything falls into place. Despite a much heavier sound driving a huge chorus – underscored by massively crashy drums – the huge melodic heart of the Bedside Morale sound beats very clearly, and settling into the second verse, the band’s mix of crunch and emotional pull appears far more balanced. The end result sounds like an old tune by Gene reworked by Muse, and that allows guitarist Charlie Dowzell plenty of room to wield a really fat tone that shows off the band’s blend of tough indie and classic, hard rock with ease. Needless to say that if you’ve already found a love for those previous singles, there’s a lot to enjoy here. ‘Yours Sincerely’, meanwhile, shares the softer side of the band in places, and Kazer delivers a slightly emo-tinged performance that isn’t showy and yet immediately calls to the listener for an emotive response. Even when the guitars rise into more of a familiar crunch, Charlie delivers a great guitar part pushing against the mid tempo set by T. Coles, a drummer who really understands how important it is to set the right mood. On this track, he puts in a fine performance: the verses swing just enough to bring the vocal to life, and even though this sometimes gives the air of being one of the more sedate Bedside Morale numbers, Coles’s playing on the heavier parts comes with a surprisingly huge wallop. If you haven’t heard the band before, despite not being quite as immediate, this is a track that’ll give you a perfect glimpse into their musical range.
As for the earlier singles, they sound superb as part of the overall package. ‘Safeword’ crushes the listener with immediate effect with a busy riff that fuses stoner rock with an alternative rock edge, occasionally sounding like an old QOTSA opening re-modelled for a sharp-edged emo/hard rock act. Crying against a much brighter sounding guitar, Kazar can be heard in full flight; between his flawless performance and the track’s massive drum sound, it sets itself up as being a modern classic, but it’s actually the contrast between the first half of the number – all spiky edges and buzzing rhythms – and the second, where the band drop into a heavier, stoner infused groove, that makes it special. By applying a “kitchen sink” approach to the arrangement, they really make the most of these four minutes. ‘Bitter Life’ is every bit as impressive, since the track’s riffs move between hard rock and harsh indie with ease, and linked via a very strong vocal, the arrangement builds gradually to a lengthy climax where the lead voice cries out above a massive wall of sound. As with a couple of the other numbers on this EP, it’s really impressive how the band builds upon the arrangement until everything starts to feel as if it’ll snap due to the increasing tension. However, it’s the brighter guitar sounds that really stand out here, since their higher tones occasionally hint at a love for 80s goth, bringing a very distinctive melody to the table, and add yet another musical slant to a collection of tracks that already feel varied without ever feeling directionless.
This is a great release. For listeners who’d missed the earlier digital singles, ‘Still Life’ offers a chance to come up to speed; for the already committed fan, it’s a short body of work that confirms the greatness heard within ‘Safeword’, and reinforces any feelings that The Bedside Morale are one of the best rock bands to emerge from a post-lockdown era. Whichever way you approach this material, it sounds really professional and the band sounds a hundred percent committed. For a debut EP, you really couldn’t ask for anything better.
June 2024