Album Review: Bedtimemagic—Pillow Talk

Bedtimemagic—Pillow Talk
Nefarious Industries

Links: Bandcamp | Nefarious Industries

There was a time when labels like Touch and Go and Amphetamine Reptile existed with a purpose to push the envelope and present alternative music from their unique perspective. Sometimes that means getting out of your comfort zone and re-defining the constructs of what that music actually is. That is what made these labels legendary. Nefarious Industries is taking the helm with their own interpretation of alternative music perspectives. Boston’s Bedtimemagic are two guys Nefarious found to stir the pot if that pot contained one part East Coast grime-noir and one part Chicago conveyer belt menace.

Pillow Talk sees bassist and vocalist Nicholas Pentabona churning meaty sounds with illusionary results. One person can sound like an army if given the right circumstance. Morgan Berns on drums, vocals, and pedal organ keeps timing like he is stumbling around and one foot is sliding towards the edge of the cliff. Put the two together, and you have a danger in that These Arms Are Snakes ran through a Today Is The Day filter sense of immediacy.

But instead of being just plain scary, songs like “Hospital Corners” and “Warm Milk” just feel like contrived bursts of freakouts through interpretative arthouse perspectives. What is impressive about Pillow<Talk is the production level; Andrew Schneider does a tremendous job of getting the most sound out of these two without turning it into a wash out.

The album as a whole is an oxymoron. The songs are thematic to the concept of sleep while the music is an electrocution of hardcore and noise. There is nothing lethargic about this album. A song like “Endless Slumber” converts Boredoms daydreams into persistent cacophony.

Pillow Talk is nefarious on tape as it could be live. These songs take on a life of their own that goes beyond simple Big Black name calling. They will transform in your mind. I guarantee that when you go back, it will not be the same.