UK rockers BAMBI seem tailor-made to confound expectations. From their cartoon-associative name to the short time that they’ve been recording together as a band (8 months, give or take), the band has understands these assumptions and then completely turns them inside out. Their sound feels lived-in — a mixture of 80’s jangle rock and britpop aesthetics but with reverbed, pop-centric melodies and jagged rushes of frenzied fretwork and percussive rhythms.
On their new single, “Reap From The Dying Love,” BAMBI take elements of Echo & the Bunnymen and The Chameleons and mix them together to create a hook-filled, riff barrage that doles out equal doses of memorable harmonies and singer James Gonsalves rafter-raising vocals. But the band feels and sounds like more than just a compendium of their influences and inspirations — their songs are wildly energetic and present a creative twist on modern indie rock.
Recently, we spoke with the band regarding a few of the artists which helped to shape their own formative musical experiences. From the pop punch of early Weezer to The Bends-eraRadiohead, they discuss in detail how these bands came to affect each member’s own musical preferences and approach to making music. Read their full list below in the latest installment of our On Deck series.
Weezer – “Undone (Sweater Song)”
Rinsed this when I heard this gem, a magical band, Weezer. I’m quite stubborn with my music to be honest, I’m picky and annoying but if I like it then I ain’t going to lie you know? This tune you should just stick on repeat, it’s a big sound and it’s kinda joyful, I like that. The riffs are cool and they swing nicely with the fluffy chord being picked. The feedback from the guitars are proper ear grinding, when they start up and that chorus comes in and those lyrics. Dude they’re the coolest caps on earth.
Radiohead – “The Bends”
It’s a pretty sweet tune, it’s got some awesome sections, some cool riffs and Thom Yorke sings like a proper dude. The albums are all pretty tight, I don’t think there’s one bad Radiohead album when I think about it hard haha. The little section they throw in right before the second verse in this tune is so sick, where Johnny Greenwood is bending the shit out of those notes, it sounds cool. Listen to them if you somehow haven’t, they’re freaky.
The Vines – “Ride”
The Vines are a weird one, mental and loud. The way that tune comes in man with those panned chords straight up, the vocal melody is pretty sweet, that whimsical stuff gets me every time ha. I like a mixture of hard hitting and sweet and soft tunes, like Tiramisu?
There’s a lot of overdrive in the song, but the sweet verses and middle 8 fills the gaps nicely.
Nirvana – “In Bloom”
Tune.
I’m not one to bum Nirvana, but they have some mental tracks. The chords in this are peng. I know it’s all mainly chords but where the next leads is what makes this a banger, plus Dave Grohl’s tight drumming of course. I love how the vocals come in with just the bass and that drum beat. It’s hard to put your finger on Nirvana, not many happy tunes, that’s probably why I feel the need to move on after a quick Nirvana session, though some may not agree which is cool.
Moby – “Porcelain”
When I put this on I wanna float haha, it’s a dreamy tune and that intro leads you to those sick vocoder robot vocals. I love how spaced out it is and how smooth everything is, kinda makes everything around you just, feel smooth. The beat is at a nice bpm to nod to and helps you sink in your lazy boy for the Friday night chiller. Another good artist in my books.
BAMBI’s debut single, “Reap From The Dying Love,” is out now.
