this is the first video, on becoming a wizard
Ambient voices, static, an acoustic guitar, and the feeling of sunshine peering through the clouds. These are what makes up songs from Bedbug’s new album, “i’ll count to heaven in years without seasons”. Like taking cotton-candy flavored medicine, the album has you fooled with soft lilting melodies, but upon closer examination, the lyrics are spiked with lament and the woes of the singer. Originally from Austin, Texas, this indie pop group is composed of three members: drummer Don Clark, vocalist/guitarist Chris Hillen, and bassist Joe Salinas. Sprinkled with clever little song forms and quips, the album is a perfect refreshing burst of indie pop.
I can’t really put into words how the album makes me feel, I’ll try though. It’s that weird feeling of dreaming of a new color, then desperately trying to remember it when you wake up. Like waking up and smelling the lingering scent of a loved one even though they have left the room.
The album begins with the quick guitar strums of the song “…inside the house was getting darker”, a little ballad with almost yodel-esque vocals. Sort of like a softer version of “Death Cab for Cutie”, you can’t help but drop everything and tune in to the sadboi voice of Chris Hillen. The opening song takes you by surprise halfway through: a seamless transition into what sounds like a lo-fi track, with a slower tempo, drum machine, and a passionate voice ranting about ownership. Immediately, the vibe changes and you feel like you’re hunched over doing homework while listening to the “Chillbeats to Study To” playlist on Spotify. The best part is near the end of the album, in the track “…outside the air is getting thinner, but…”, the same guitar is heard again, but this time in a lower key. The repeated motif creates such a good addition to that feeling of nostalgia throughout the album because you start to think, “haven’t I heard this before”?, causing that feeling of trying to remember a memory grow stronger.
Interlaced throughout these gloomy happy songs are verses from “Melissa’s Poems”, fragments of strangely beautiful sentences laying on a bed of synths.
God is a sunset on the bus to New York City, hidden by someone’s large head Your eyes are also clocks, blue arrows ticking.
The imagery is so clear; the dazed feeling of rocking back and forth on a bus, trying to get a glimpse of the sunset but finding your view obstructed by another passenger. Truly lyrics that capture genius reflections about daily life show that there’s more than meets the eye in the routines that we have established. The album, “i’ll count to heaven in years without seasons” reveals so much that is hidden in plain sight.