Bambara Are Stuck In a "Mythic Love"

Brooklyn-based post-punk trio Bambara return with single “Mythic Love”, their first following the release of their fifth studio album, Stray, in early 2020. The band, who formed in Athens, Georgia in 2007, became known in the underground music scene for their poetic storytelling influenced by the Southern Gothic literature of Bruno Schulz and Flannery O’Connor. Easy comparisons for the baritone crooning of lead singer Reid Bateh are Australian punk blues legends Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard, who were some of the first to bring the dark and despondent atmosphere of gothic rock and country to punk music. Despite borrowing heavily from the work of punk greats overseas, Bambara’s sound is distinctly American; the sweltering humidity of a summer in the deep south manifests itself in the band’s groovy basslines and driving guitar rhythms, serving as a backdrop for Bateh’s fervent illustrations of the brooding underbelly of rural America.

Bambara explore themes of surreptitious romance on “Mythic Love”, a duet featuring Orville Peck’s Bria Salmena singing opposite of Bateh. Twanging, howling guitars and a throbbing bassline underscore the duo’s narration of a lustful and tumultuous relationship, coalescing in two impassioned choruses detailing the volatile nature of their fantastical affair.

Along with their latest single, Bambara announced Love on My Mind, a new EP out via Wharf Cat Records on February 25th, 2022. Watch the music video for “Mythic Love” below, and follow the band on Twitter and Instagram @bambaraband.EXT