Bedhead
What Fun Life Was

I don't know anything about this group... Neither the names of its members nor their biography, nor anything else... I only know that a few days ago, I read this definition about them, "lazy rock for melancholic hearts", and I immediately downloaded what was said to be their best album, "What A Fun Life Was"... I go to listen, and indeed, I immediately notice that melancholy is the prevailing sensation...

The songs always maintain the same tone, with the singer's voice almost speaking, or rather whispering, so "lazy" it is: it becomes almost an instrument that always plays on the same line, while the electric guitar carries out the melody, always sad and sleepy, which somewhat recalls the slow-rock atmospheres of "I Could Live In Hope" by Low. The cymbals of the drums follow a homogeneous rhythm, filling the air and creating an effect of ethereal flight, accentuated here and there by the almost "shoegaze" background obtained from the guitars. Then, true noise outbursts sometimes insert themselves, for example in "Haywire," "Bedside Table," or "Living Well," the most "forceful" tracks, naturally developed only by the instrumentation, while the singing remains there, immobile. The peculiarity of this staticity is that the effect that is actually achieved is that of a warm and emotional embrace that is anything but still: in fact, the melodies woven by the guitar and the movement given by the drums and bass take the listener on a journey that seems almost winged... And the singer's timbre is truly fascinating, warm and enraptured, as if enchanted. These features are perfectly encapsulated in the initial track, "Liferaft," a beginning with a guitar riff repeated to the point of boredom, upon which the always delicate drums and then the lazy voice enter, with a crescendo of percussion volume in the second part until they envelop the whole atmosphere and expand the imagination into ever-wider spaces; the most beautiful moment is the return of the singing, having distanced itself during this climax, which resumes the initial melody slightly stronger, further opening the view towards distant and imaginary landscapes. "Crushing" also follows the same structure, while "Haywire," being more lively, is perhaps the most "shoegaze" of the record. Then "The Unpredictable Landlord" constitutes a small variation in rhythm, mainly due to the more vigorous percussion of the drums (in fact, we have said that in the rest of the record, the cymbals are almost always highlighted), "Unfinished," the slowest track, almost only guitar and voice, returns us to sluggish pace and speed, which are then emphasized in the subsequent "Powder," an obsessive guitar riff repeated ad infinitum for a considerable length (we reach 7 minutes), always growing in intensity and involvement of the instruments as it progresses. The "bluesy" interlude of "To the Ground" is also good, useful for breaking the atmosphere with a moment of carefree cheerfulness. After resuming more purely noise-rock situations in "Living Well," very similar to the aforementioned second track "Haywire," the perfect conclusion arrives, "Wind Down": a beginning that recalls the acoustic sketch "You Never Wash Up After Yourself" by Radiohead but soon flows into a guitar riff, very catchy, almost liberating, underscored as usual by the rest of the instrumentation and in this case also by the singing, which suddenly, as if tired of its own weariness, lets itself go into a more angry tone, which then culminates in a punk-rock finale (although still in the usual ethereal atmosphere)...

An excellent album, recommended for a car or bus trip, to listen to with your head resting against the window and watching the landscape pass by along the road, always trying to go beyond what you see, beyond the horizon, up to soaring into the sky, immersed and hypnotically captivated by the enchanted and comfortably melancholic atmosphere of these splendid songs. PS: the rating is 4.5