BEDTIMEMAGIC

Boston's BEDTIMEMAGIC is volume worship and angular songwriting at an innovative peak. A testament to ingenuity, bassist and singer Nicholas Pentabona rises from the rhythm section, playing his modified Rickenbacker 4003 with a loose, raw aggression normally reserved for a thrift store six-string. Shadows of his playing from days in The Taste Of Silver color the fringe in muted, subtle tones. Guttural sonic power pulses through two large amplifiers, one keyed to treble and the other, unapologetically, a grizzly low. His vocals are warbling and charismatic, channeling lingual acrobatics from beat poets, urban slam. One can recognize inspiration from such misanthropic stalwarts as Nick Cave, Shellac, or absurds such as Melvins, The Jesus Lizard. Behind a larger-than-life custom drum set -- replete with a garbage can sized kick drum -- is Morgan Berns, a veteran of the New England hardcore and metal scenes. Having played with outfits such as Bury The Needle, Coleman, and Livver, Morgan is no stranger to the grit that comes with driving a band through basement shows nor corner bars. Berns’ kit slops and screams; big beats and heavy chops crest loud in the mix, suggesting melodies untapped through adversarial nickel strings. Morgan seems committed to extending himself: He dons a headset microphone to sing a myriad lines despite also playing a pedal-based single octave organ with his foot. His knowledge of "dad jokes" is infamous. Header photo by Coleman Rogers (c) 2022