What’s in a name? When it comes to Milwaukee indie-/art-/math-rock outfit Bunk Bed, quite a lot.
The group emerged in 2022, releasing the two-song Top Bunk, Bottom Bunk. Both songs (“Crowd And Judgement,” “Bum”) operated on multiple levels at once— herky-jerky riffs and shout-y gang vocals one second, jam-band tendencies and a love for early Built To Spill the next. It was a terrific introduction to a terrifically multifaceted band.
Now comes Bunk Bed’s debut full-length, the nine-song Roughhousing. As before, songs rarely stay on one level for long: Opener “Hold Me Down” blasts forth with a heads-down determination that leads to a fist-pumping, half-speed chorus; “Sweetie” toggles between a Pink Floyd psych workout and a jittery jam; epic closer “Crushed” comes in and out like the tide, slowly building to a cathartic scream into the void before ending on a quiet and poignant note. In a few cases, the titles do the talking: “Disco Eternal” pits the band’s Modest Mouse-esque yelp against a space-y disco beat, while “Piss Lounge” comes complete with dinner-theater sound effects and a corny announcer (“Ladies and gentlemen…the Bunk Beds!”)
Recorded and mixed by Shane Hochstetler at Howl Street Recordings, and mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering, Roughhousing is a restless and inventive record. Its wonky and semi-goofy sensibility is good for top-bunk shenanigans, but there are plenty of heady themes and darker moments lying beneath. Listen to it now, before its November 8 release:
Bunk Bed will celebrate the release of Roughhousing at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn on Friday, November 8. Known Moons, Sex Scenes, and Buena Cara will play in support.
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