Birthmarks (Bambara album)
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| Birthmarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 14, 2025 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:35 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | Graham Sutton and Bambara | |||
| Bambara chronology | ||||
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Birthmarks is the fifth studio album by American post-punk band Bambara. It was released on March 14, 2025, by Bella Union and Wharf Cat Records.[2] Produced by Graham Sutton, Birthmarks is the band's first release since its 2022 EP Love On My Mind, and its first full-length album Stray in 2020.[2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Louder Than War | [1] |
| DIY | [3] |
AllMusic gave the album a rating of 3.5 out of five and stated "there is more of a conceptual storyline to this album, involving a character named Elena and the man who murdered her boyfriend."[2]
Louder Than War referred to it as "possibly their most accessible album to date, full of gothic post punk drama from the Bateh brothers," and assigned it a rating of 4.5 out of five,[1] while DIY Magazine rated it three stars, noting "much of Birthmarks instead appears confusing, unable to find its groove. In essence, not one for those who actively avoid spoilers, perhaps."[3]
The Quietus described the album as "a collection of speak-sing story-songs that has both a commercial sheen and an underlying eeriness,"[4] and BrooklynVegan remarked "Whoever is responsible for this sonic renovation, huzzah, because Birthmarks sounds like a million bucks in all the right ways and the band's essential Bambara-ness never gets lost in the gloss."[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hiss" | 4:15 |
| 2. | "Letters From Sing Sing" | 3:14 |
| 3. | "Face Of Love" | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Pray To Me" | 3:29 |
| 5. | "Holy Bones" | 3:27 |
| 6. | "Elena's Dream" | 2:08 |
| 7. | "Because You Asked" | 4:23 |
| 8. | "Dive Shrine" | 3:04 |
| 9. | "Smoke" | 3:59 |
| 10. | "Loretta" | 4:21 |
| Total length: | 36:35 | |