Last year, Hull and Leeds-based shoegaze outfit bdrmm released a truly outstanding debut album with Bedroom and it’s a joy to have them back with new material these days. Port, however, shows a new side of the beloved bdrmm sound. It’s even darker, more intense, a bit rawer and less “shoegazing”. Instead we’re getting sharp and sinister synth bass lines and noisy guitar solos as the tension constantly switches between noisy and calmer moments. “I think a lot of the music going forward will be a lot, not darker, but coming from a much deeper place than the first album,” explains singer and guitarist Ryan Smith the new direction. The gloomy notion of the track is also a direct result of the story the song is telling. “‘Port’ was written at the height of addiction,” Ryan continues. “It comes from a place where you know you need to change but feel that you can’t. I wish I could come up with some profound meaning for what this track means, or what it is, but I’d just be lying. I was in a difficult place, and this was the end result.” bdrmm are heading for interesting new musical territory here and it will be fun to see what’s next for these folks.