WHO ARE Bandicoot? Is the question on your lips, and even their own, if you judge by their social media handle across the various platforms. Their new single for Libertino, “Dark Too Long”, out on February 26th, helps reveal a little more.
Out today and embedded below, they’ve certainly got the rock ‘n’ roll; guitars clash and duel with a garagey fire, almost baroque, glammy little riffs bringing to mind some of the people who, looking back, were properly starting to look towards punk, stripping it back: Cale, Eno. And when they let it all go at the end. by golly … they rage.
They have a love for the poetry of Dylan and the melancholic songcraft of Badfinger; and the quartet, who hail from Swansea/Abertawe, is comprised of vocalist, guitarist, sax and keyboard player Rhys Underdown; vocalist, guitarist and keys man Tom Emlyn; Keiran Doe on bass, and Billy Stillman on drums. They bring a post-industrial blues to shout across The Mumbles.
They’ve earned a helluva reputation in Wales back when gigs were a thing – remember gigs? – with art-rock, krautrock pulsing, glam and post=punk all admitted to the fire.
“Dark Too Long” is their debut single for Libertino; they summate it as a “frenzied cry of desperation from the depths of excess and loneliness, influenced by the driving rhythms of NEU! and Can.”
Pleased with this new addition to their vibrant roster, Libertino commented: “Bandicoot are wired instinctively to the cathartic screams of John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band, the lustful danger of The Velvet Underground, and CAN’s cinematic propulsion.
“They are the art-house provocateurs of Warhol’s Factory brought to life on Swansea’s rainy streets.”
Propel yourself over to Bandicoot’s Bandcamp page and you’ll find a brace of digital long-players that help flesh out the story so far: Second Hand Rain, a résumé of the band to date; and lockdown excursion Ten Covers, which takes on fellow Cymric legends Super Furries and Gorky’s, alongside The Beach Boys, The Lemonheads, Brian Jonestown Massacre and more.
Connect with Bandicoot online at Facebook, Twitter, Spotify and Instagram.
