by John Brouk
Head back to school by revisiting the self-titled debut album from the Los Angeles-based Bed Bits. Released last fall, this album is a trippy field trip back in time, like a lost episode of the 90's educational cartoon Magic School Bus, where jangly and repeating guitar riffs, lackadaisical vocals, and primal, rhythmic percussion with lumbering bass lines all merge to feel like the first triumphantly gawky footsteps of a pre-cretaceous species onto dry land. A zany and fun collection of post-egg punk tunes from the self-proclaimed "premier marmalade-scented spiritual cartoon group," Bed Bits' self-titled album is a wonderfully unique experience. If you were hoping for a normal field trip, you’d better stay home!
Our journey begins with "Cambrian Age" who's brief introductory animal soundtrack gives way to a Paleozoic boogie, where horseshoe crab-like creatures sway and swagger in a young world teeming with potential. With follow-up track "Ceiling," we realize that this is not only a trip through time, but into space and other dimensions as well. Surrealist lyricism transports us to a realm of bright swirling colors where there are faces inhabiting the ceiling and a frog can be found in the chimney. This song also has a fun and colorful music video to accompany it. Throughout this record we are greeted by a number of different zoological oddities, such as flamingos, partridges, cats, and even animals driving cars.
The seemingly absurdist lyrics of tracks like "Secret Life" achieve their goal in keeping the subject matter under wraps, making the listener assign their own meaning to the scenes of whimsical chaos. This includes imagery of people living in a shoe surrounded by lemon trees and shopping for kelly green shorts in an attempt to match their lava lamps, as found in "Dream Vitamins," which serves as the perfect prescription for anyone deficient in imagination. Sitting in the middle of the track list is "Tender Spree," easily the most melodically sweet moment on the album. We hear the slow dance-like interplay of an arpeggio guitar riff and bass notes who eventually embrace each other while celestial harmonies lift us skyward with promises of a dreamy ride through pink and yellow planets.
The bulk of the album’s instrumentation is characterized by its trebly and dry guitars that wobble, stretch, spring, and sproing as if made of silly putty. Bed Bits seems to know that the fewer notes you use, the more powerful they are. There's something surfy in the tones, yet picturing a dry southwestern desert feels more apt than any body of water. These sounds pair so well with the mirage-like hallucinations described throughout the album. There is also a sprinkling of different instrumentation like wavering saxophone, sitar, piano, vibraphone, and other sound effects that provide fun flares throughout the album. The percussion switches between straightforward and consistent drumbeats that keep a steady pace, and the playful world music that works the whole thing into a gangly groove. The album's instrumental closer "Poto & Cabengo" is perhaps the clearest example of the band’s post-punk aspirations, with repeating guitar riffs and distortion-free chord punches.