The Leeds-Hull indie rock band bdrmm will be returning this spring to Sheffield as part of their UK and Europe tour to promote their new album ‘I Don’t Know’.
The band will be performing at Yellow Arch Studios on 19 March.
Speaking of their Sheffield gig, the lead singer said: “We played our first Sheffield show at Yellow Arch and the day we’re going back is actually my birthday, and it’s the end of the tour so it’ll be the best day.
“Yellow Arch is gonna be a pretty special one.”
The band’s second album, released in June last year, showcases hazy, opaque melodies, bounding electronic sounds, and an overall euphoric and dystopian feel.
The name bdrmm nods to the creation of the band, which started out as a bedroom project. Lead vocalist, Ryan Smith, said: I just started writing some demos on my iPhone in my room just out of boredom and then I created a couple of EPs, put them on a BBC Introducing Upload and one of them got played.
“Then I thought, ‘I should get a band together.’”
The dream-pop band is composed of Ryan Smith, his brother Jordan Smith (vocals and bass), Joe Vickers (guitar and bass), and Conor Murray (drums). Ryan said: “We’ve been writing music and performing as much as we can ever since.”
After touring, releasing two self-recorded demo EPs, and a few singles, the band was signed to Sonic Cathedral in 2019. Their official debut EP ‘If Not, When?’ was released later that year.
Speaking of his favourite moment with the band so far, the lead vocalist said: “The past two days have been pretty special with DIIV. We also supported Mogwai last year. That was unreal, and then we signed with them. Also holding the first vinyl – that was a real hangover cure moment.”
Their 10-track debut album ‘Bedroom’ was released in early 2020 and showcased an elevation of their previous singles, both musically and lyrically. It entered the Official UK Charts on three separate occasions, ended up in Rough Trade’s Top 10 albums of 2020 and was declared by The Guardian, “one of the underground hits of lockdown.”
In 2023, the band signed with Mogwai’s Rock Action Records, and released their second album. When asked to describe their new album in three words, Ryan said: “It’s much more electronic. The music comes from things that have happened to me but I wanted to try and create a feel from somebody else.
“It’s almost like coming from someone else’s mind and it’s just like their diary entries of how they’re surviving in this world now. So it’s a bit more of a dystopian take rather than personal.”
Described as a “modern day shoegaze classic,” four-piece band are collectively inspired by the likes of Radiohead, but also have hints of The Cure and RIDE in their music.
Their favourite touring moment so far is when they performed at Alexandra Palace with Mogwai last year. Ryan said: “We were playing in probably one of the biggest venues in England. It was just a proper pinch me moment.”
Interestingly, Ryan’s favourite thing about touring is the service station stops. He said: “There’s just so much variety and it’s nice when you’re in a van all the time. Subway is my go-to when we’ve got money, but I’m currently on a sausage roll kind of budget.”
Since hitting the road this spring, the band have so far performed in London, Manchester, and Norwich, as well as many other cities around Europe.
Find out more about the Sheffield event here.
