Three years of (im)patient waiting following their debut, Bedroom, we can breathe a sigh of relief. If a debut album introduces your work to the world, your second offers the opportunity to reaffirm any and all influence you managed to garner. With most holding on by their fingertips, thanks to the frivolity that TikTok and Spotify have produced in our listening habits, bdrmm have managed to get a tighter grip with their sophomore I Don’t Know. 

In typical shoegaze fashion, tracks like “Be Careful” welcome you into a trance-like state of movement. James’ lyrics offer up the opportunity for inner reflection in a soundscape that takes you away from all that is normal, “Behind closed doors, we see a different concept,” weaving optimism into your uncomfortable reality. 

Rejecting strict genre limitations and corporate expectations, the band disrupts the flow with rock, (“It’s Just a Bit of Blood,” “Pulling Stitches”) whilst the likes of “Advertisement One” bleed orchestral sentimentalities. As with fashion, music reflects on what came before, with I Don’t Know building on the sounds of the 90s and 00s. It provides a comfort, a familiarity. Before you know it, the album has come to an end, met with no apprehension or judgement, just an acceptance that this is the present and the future of music.