Founded in Athens, Georgia by twin brothers Reid and Blaze Bateh, and bassist William Brookshire, Bambara are now based in Brooklyn, NYC and have been steadily attracting attention since the release of their 2013 debut.
Bambara recently announced their follow up ‘Stray’ (due out via Wharf Cat on February 14th, 2020 – pre-order HERE), with the premiere of the album’s first single ‘Serafina’ on the FADER and first play on 6 Music with Steve Lamacq.
A thunderous squall of a song, “Serafina” provides an arresting introduction to the album. Channeling the anarchic energy of The Birthday Party and The Gun Club, in combination with Reid Blateh’s dramatic lyrical style the track imbues the story of a pair suburban misfits with apocalyptic weight. Bambara’s rhythm section rattles and bursts behind a frantic descending guitar lead as Reid, in a fraying baritone, weaves a tale set in his home state of Georgia that acknowledges the history of the place with subtle Civil War allusions, while conjuring an immediate atmosphere of backwoods unease. As Reid tells to FADER, it’s a song built to communicate an unhinged energy.
“Stray is a death-obsessed album,” says Reid. “Most of the songs are about different characters’ futile attempts at living meaningful lives under the weight of imminent annihilation. I wanted “Serafina” to feel different. I wanted the song to radiate a sort of wild-eyed hope. A youthful disregard for death itself. Serafina and Sadie live exactly how they want to live, exploring their love for one another before a backdrop of flames. The knowledge of their own mortality takes nothing from their enthusiasm for life. If anything, they see it as a challenge they might one day overcome together. When they say, “We’ll never die” I want it to feel like they might actually have a shot.”
Bambara are embarking on a UK tour that begins in Bristol at the Simple Things Festival on October 19th.
Tour Dates
10/22/2019 – Soup Kitchen – Manchester
10/23/2019 – Hyde Park Book Club – Leeds
10/25/2019 – Record Junkie – Sheffield
10/26/2019 – The Poetry Club – Glasgow
10/28/2019 – Green Door Store – Brighton
10/29/2019 – Sebright Arms – London
