Created in collaboration with co-producer Graham Sutton from UK experimental pioneers Bark Psychosis (a man also heavily responsible for the groundbreaking These New Puritans records), it’s not so much a concept album as a stunningly complex work of narrative fiction, featuring memorable characters including C&W karaoke-bar siren with halo-braided hair and a one-eyed murderer begging for the electric chair – all not exactly set to music, but actually born from it.

The three members of Bambara – singer-guitarist Reid Bateh, his twin brother Blaze Bateh (drums), and bassist William Brookshire – first started playing together in junior high school in Atlanta, GA and pretty much every moment ever since then have been obsessively honing their sound and vision; first moving to Athens, GA and finally heading to Brooklyn where they’ve established their long-term base.

Their story really picks up pace after 2020’s breakthrough Stray album – a record whose volatile and frequently explosive wall of sound offered a gnarly backdrop for Reid’s typically twisted midnight narratives. Having toured with Idles and Gilla Band pre-pandemic (both big fans), this was the record – powered by their propulsive ‘Serafina single’ and widespread 6Music support – that really put them on the map on both sides of the Atlantic. They were duly signed to Bella Union (Wharf Cat in the US), who for the first time afforded them a budget to hire a producer for what became Birthmarks. Travelling to Ramsgate in Kent to record with Sutton in 2023, they sought to continue to revolutionize their sound beyond what many deemed their ‘post-punk’ leanings.  

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