Good Morning Bedlam

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Good Morning Bedlam

press release: The title track of Good Morning Bedlam's new album, Like Kings, encapsulates the theme of the album as a whole: conflicts and triumphs, both, are the reality of our human experience. Good Morning Bedlam reminds listeners that we, like kings, each have our own small kingdom--those people and dreams we choose to care for amidst joy and pain, alike. Like Kings’ music is energetic and varied, with echoes of bluegrass, gospel, blues, indie rock, and modern folk, music that’s juxtaposed with vulnerable lyrics that speak to the universal desire to know and be known.

One fan recently said, “I can’t decide which song is my favorite.”  Most likely it’s because one track doesn’t bleed into the next. Each song is a careful marriage (sometimes unlikely) of melody with lyrics to craft a unique narrative. The continuity of the album comes from its eclectic nature, which fans have come to recognize as GMB’s hallmark. The harmonies are tight with three strong vocalists who alternate the lead, a rare find.

GMB delivers a menagerie of music: an old blues tune turns dark pop ballad with aggressive “brass and grass” (St. James Infirmary), an upbeat modern folk song with an instrumental bridge that mimics diving deep into the ocean (Eastbound), an epic klezmer style fiddle tune (Devil’s Waltz), a gospel roots “pop” song (Pretty Papers), one that is lyrically gospel and blues, while musically culminating as a rock anthem (The Orchard), one pure folk ballad female duo (Long Road), a circus-like tune of changing tempos and time signatures juxtaposed with soul-baring honesty (The Zoo), a joyful foot-stomper with strong banjo that tips a cap to bluegrass (Dancing Fool), a simple melody with old-timey fiddle that proclaims our desire for relationship (Like Kings), and one that, in the absence of banjo and acoustic guitar, moves past the sphere of folk into indie rock, voicing nagging questions joined by a chorus and accompanied by full strings, jungle toms, and piano (Will I Wake).

Good Morning Bedlam’s name says it all. Theirs is a genre that’s hard to nail down, and make no mistake, it is completely intentional.