Bethlehem Casuals launch their new album ‘The Tragedy of Street Dog’
Another great band coming from the musical hotbed that is Manchester, the 7-piece Bethlehem Casuals are, well…. let’s face it…. a bunch of oddballs. And this is the best thing about them, a quirky, psycho-jazz, prog-rock boiling pot of weird and wacky ideas, and it is incredibly refreshing! This is one of those Marmite kind of experiences, and although I hate Marmite, I love this!
This is their second album following the 2018 release of ‘Feels on Wheels, and it reflects their infectiously idiosyncratic style to perfection. The album ‘The Tragedy of Street Dog’ follows in the wake of classic experimental albums such as Genesis’s ‘Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ and Zappa. Don’t believe me? Give ‘River Rat II’ a try and you will see what I mean.
The album is an eccentric story, supported by its hypnotic mix of jazz and folk influences with rock and heady grooves and tribal drums, sax and flutes. It tells us of a pet dog that escapes a boring life and sets out to find out why there is no music left in Manchester! See... not your everyday love ballad.
The album kicks off with a ‘80 Something‘ and right away we see how Bethlehem Casuals like to blend styles in a song. This one is probably the most traditionally jazz styled, but has a wonderful pop element to the middle of it. It works, and it works well. Probably the best example is ‘Context‘ and ‘The Passion‘ that have another worldly prog-rock/pop feel.
The recent single ‘The Oke‘ is different again, it’s opening notes reminding me of something like a Pixar film score, such as Up! Before morphing into a kind of tribal chant vibe before the pace changes again, with vocals almost Kraftwerk-like against a very toe tapping rythm. Rythym
Between tracks there are a number of ‘Interludes’. These aren’t merely fillers, but great tracks in their own right. My favorite being Number IV with its upbeat predominant bassline which gets you moving.
‘Magpie Park‘ brings the album to a peak, and is a gloriously expressive exercise in story telling‚ ‘In Magpie Park after dark is where the serious shit goes down......‘ It;s where the silence is finally broken, it‘s ‘where the silence crescendos to a peak’ as the music starts to return to Manchester.
Like all good stories, the final track ‘Change‘ pulls everything together and sets the listener thinking...... ‘We don’t get to write the story of our lives‘ it concludes. It leaves us reflecting on what’s just played out before us, in such a colourful and glorious fashion.
But is it any good ? Hell yes ! Bethlehem Casual produce complex and beautiful music, that is both grand, ambitious, captivating but above all else…. Is brilliantly crafted and executed. Is it perfect? No, not quite, but in 2020 it’s a real breath of fresh air and a joy to listen to and I whole-heartily give it a 4/5.
Out now, and available to stream on Spotify. Bethlehem Casuals hit the road in autumn 2020 with their ‘Flaccid Passion‘ tour. Kicking off in their home town of Manchester on 22 September, they take in Huddersfield, Leeds, Stockport, Newcastle and Bath.
Tour tickets available now: https://www.songkick.com/artists/8702093-bethlehem-casuals/calendar
Bethlehem Casuals Autumn 2020 Tour Dates
