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Blue Bendy
Part of a band playing music under pink lighting.
Blue Bendy in January 2024
Background information
OriginLondon, UK
Genres
Years active2017 (2017)–present
LabelsThe State51 Conspiracy
Members
  • Arthur Nolan
  • Olivia Morgan
  • Harrison Charles
  • Oliver Nolan
  • Oscar Tebbutt
  • Joe Nash
Past members
  • Sam Wilson
Websitebluebendy.bandcamp.com

Blue Bendy are a British indie rock band. Starting out making post-punk music after vocalist Arthur Nolan and guitarist Joe Nash moved from Scunthorpe to London, they later gravitated towards their own style. Much of their work varies in its genre, with their debut album So Medieval switching between genres such as indie rock, post-punk, baroque indie, and post-rock.

Career

[edit]

2017-2022: beginnings and Motorbike

[edit]

Blue Bendy began in 2017, after vocalist Arthur Nolan and guitarist Joe Nash moved from Scunthorpe to London. They started out creating post-punk music; Nolan later told The Guardian that they were trying to emulate Wire "before post-punk got so lethargic and landfill".[1] According to Nash, "not too much thought" went into the band name, and they "just wanted something that would catch someone's ear".[2] After Olivia Morgan, Sam Wilson, Harrison Charles and Oscar Tebbutt joined the band, they began to shift more towards their own style.[1]

The band avoided releasing any music until February 2019, when they released the single "Closing Sound" on the label Permanent Creeps.[3] In August of that year they released a 1990s-inspired single, "Suspension".[4] They released two more singles - "International" in 2020[5] and "Glosso Babel" in 2021[6] - before moving to the label Practise Music in August 2021, and releasing the single "A Celebration".[7]

In October 2021, Blue Bendy announced their first EP, Motorbike, and simultaneously released the single "Spring 100".[8] The four-track EP was released in February 2022;[9] it was described by Hard of Hearing Magazine as sounding like "Pavement the band [and] pavement the surface".[10]

In early 2022, Sam Wilson left the band, and was replaced on bass by Oliver Nolan.[2]

2023-present: So Medieval

[edit]
Main article: So Medieval

In April 2023, Blue Bendy released the single "Cloudy".[11] The next single they released was "Mr. Bubblegum" in October, also announcing they would be moving to the label The State51 Conspiracy.[12] In January 2024, they announced their debut album, So Medieval, with the release of the single "Come On Baby, Dig!".[13] One more single was released before the album - "The Day I Said You'd Died (He Lives)" in March.[14]

So Medieval was released on 12 April 2024.[15] It received generally positive reviews from critics,[16][17][18][19] including an 8.0/10 from Pitchfork.[15] Roisin O'Connor from The Independent wrote that it "never feels cluttered, despite its profound cacophony of instruments."[20]

Musical style

[edit]

Blue Bendy are inspired by artists such as Iceage,[8] The Grateful Dead, Suzanne Vega, and Soul II Soul, as well as the TV show Gogglebox.[10] While they started out creating post-punk music, their EP Motorbike was described by Pitchfork as "monologue-rock" and "handclap indie-pop",[15] and Nolan stated after the release of So Medieval that "genre is dead as far as we're concerned. This album is all about the death of purity, embracing contrasts and everything being a big melting pot."[17] According to Brad Harris of Hard of Hearing Magazine, the band has "become weirder and poppier and weirder and poppier".[10] So Medieval has been described as art rock[15] and post-punk,[16], with the title track containing "delicate baroque indie"[17] and the track "Cloudy" falling into the genre of post-rock.[19]

Blue Bendy's lyrics are often ironic,[16] with Pitchfork praising their "deadpan absurdity".[15] Some of their songs integrate pop culture references, such as the track "I'm Sorry I Left Him To Bleed" referencing Kendall Roy.[19] Despite their absurdity, Blue Bendy's lyrics discuss topics such as existential dread[16] and morality.[20]

Members

[edit]

Current members

[edit]

All info per The Line of Best Fit.[17]

  • Arthur Nolan - vocals
  • Olivia Morgan - keys
  • Harrison Charles - guitar
  • Oliver Nolan - bass
  • Oscar Tebbutt - drums
  • Joe Nash - guitar

Past members

[edit]
  • Sam Wilson - bass[2]

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]

EPs

[edit]
  • Motorbike (2022)[1]

Singles

[edit]
  • "Closing Sound" (2019)[3]
  • "Suspension" (2019)[18][4]
  • "International" (2020)[5]
  • "Glosso Babel" (2021)[6]
  • "A Celebration" (2021)[7]
  • "Spring 100" (2021)[8]
  • "Cloudy" (2023)[11]
  • "Mr. Bubblegum" (2023)[12]
  • "Come On Baby, Dig!" (2024)[14]
  • "The Day I Said You'd Died (He Lives)" (2024)[14]

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blue Bendy.
  1. ^ a b c Wray, Daniel Dylan (2 January 2023). "Blue Bendy: the south London post-punk pop band who fried Wire's brains". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Blue Bendy talk evolution, new EP and South London". The Rodeo Magazine. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Blue Bendy release debut single 'Closing Sound' via Permanent Creeps". So Young Magazine. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b Sims, Paige (8 August 2019). "South London DIY six-piece Blue Bendy share new single "Suspension"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Blue Bendy offer up new single 'International'". DIY. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b Harris, Brad (31 January 2021). "London's Blue Bendy speak in tongues on the hypnotic 'Glosso Babel'". Hard of Hearing Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Blue Bendy offer up new track 'A Celebration'". DIY. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Get To Know... Blue Bendy". DIY. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  9. ^ Lashley, Amber (11 February 2022). "Blue Bendy Release Their Debut EP 'Motorbike'". So Young Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Harris, Brad (25 February 2022). "London sextet Blue Bendy shift through the gears on debut EP 'Motorbike' via Practise Music". Hard Of Hearing Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  11. ^ a b Greene, Jayson (5 April 2023). "Blue Bendy: "Cloudy"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  12. ^ a b Kelly, Tyler Damara (10 October 2023). "Blue Bendy sign to state51 and release new single, "Mr. Bubblegum"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  13. ^ Monroe, Jazz (25 January 2024). "Blue Bendy Announce Debut Album So Medieval, Share Spooky New Video". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 11 February 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Aimee, Rachel (8 March 2024). "Start Listening To: Blue Bendy". Still Listening. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Monroe, Jazz (16 April 2024). "Blue Bendy: So Medieval". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d Pilley, Max (11 April 2024). "Blue Bendy – 'So Medieval' review: this arch, athletic album surprises at every turn". NME. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e Marshall, Grace (10 April 2024). "Blue Bendy: So Medieval Review". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  18. ^ a b c "Blue Bendy - So Medieval". Clash. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  19. ^ a b c Carter, Daisy (10 April 2024). "Blue Bendy - So Medieval". DIY. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  20. ^ a b O'Connor, Roisin (14 April 2024). "Blue Bendy frontman Arthur Nolan: 'I see a lot of myself in Kendall Roy'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
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