Mo Bedick recently released ‘Cemetery Caretaker,’ taken from their upcoming debut album ‘Whirligig,’ out March 15th via Dutch label Geertruida.

Mo Bedick is a 4-piece rock band from the Netherlands. Known for their genre-bending tunes, the group has a compelling sound and creates songs that are often described as both versatile and enchanting. As a whole, the single ‘Cemetary Caretaker’ is an ethereal story with a plethora of valleys and peaks. It’s as if Evntyd, Tame Impala, and Slowdive were all combined into something fresh yet nostalgic.

This release immediately cultivates a catchy shoegaze vibe- And one with a strong impetus at that. Despite the noir title ‘Cemetary Caretaker’ begins dreamily, with lush beats and ethereal, layered riffs. The micro-melodies in the intro could alone be a symphony. Then the psychedelic vocals come in, broad and mellow, just barely sitting above the mix.

“With eyes like a sunset…”

Once we look beyond the surreal sonic quality of the song, we find depth and the driving force behind the tune. Underneath the hood, we discover moments of questioning, moments of admiration, and the sting of pain within it all.

“While you light another cigarette, think about the things that haven’t happened yet…”

‘Cemetary Caretaker’ is a love song, an existential question, and a celebration of simply being alive and taking it all in.

“The big tree in front of our house
You’re passed out on the couch
Where you are is where home is
Where you are is where home is”

As the vocalist ends a phrase in his falsetto range, the song morphs into something much more wistful. Next, a solo electric guitar soars over an instrumental break while the drums, bass, and guitars soldier on….Until we suddenly reach a new pop-punk feel. But much like the seasons, no moment inside ‘Cementary Caretaker’ lasts for very long.

The feeling comes and goes, an unexpected sound effect makes a cameo…and finally, we settle back into a more chill feeling. As the song comes to a close and the last of the leaves fall, we’re hit with advice, and a line that gives us a bit of unease.

“It’s the last in the pack
And you got to stop puffing the past
Big brother, big brother watching over me”

The band’s debut album ‘Whirligig’ will be available on vinyl on March 15th via the Dutch label Geertruida.

“We wanted to shift directions”

What’s the story behind the name- Mo Bedick? Is this a Herman Melville reference, or does it mean something more?

There are multiple origin stories; I mostly go by Mo because my Dutch name can be hard to pronounce. It started out as my bedroom recording project when I was 17, and one night we were at my parents smoking a weed strain called Moby Dick; we didn’t want to directly copy that so Mo Bedick was born. I used to be a bit of a dick as well when I was 17-18 but then again who wasn’t.

‘Cemetary Caretaker’ has many rises and falls- both lyrically, and compositionally. What first came to mind when you guys were writing this?

We wanted to shift directions, something moody but beautiful. It needed to flow/drift/float naturally but not become boring: that’s why there is a brief beat switch as well. The lyrics are the ones I’m most proud of really, lots of song references and wordplay that I like. And it’s quite personal too, about (almost) losing someone and overthinking what did and would have happened.

Is the title of this song literal, or more figurative? Can you tell us more about it?

The whole song is about seeing the beauty in sadness. I thought that someone making sure something sad/grim like a cemetery is kept well and nice would be a good figure of speech for that.

The art you have is a spinning roller coaster- a whirligig, rather. Does your upcoming album have this circular/cyclical spinning theme throughout?

It’s more that our music is forever spinning; going round and round through different genres but still attached at the center: tight drums and bass. That’s why the album is called whirligig too; forever running circles.

“We play a lot of it live”

What does your recording process look like?

We play a lot of it live, all the drums and bass are live from demo recordings that made it onto the record. Our producer Arthur aka Timba grew to be one of our best friends. For ‘Whirligig’ we even slept in his studio through some weekends in the pandemic, hosting dress up recording parties. Some of the guitar tracks were recorded at 1 am by Florian dressed up in a neon green nun costume and me dressed like Julius Caesar. We were literally on air mattresses next to our amps in multiple sleeping bags and sweaters because it was winter too.

Where do you record, and what gets your creative juices flowing?

Arthur built his own studio in Leiden which has a lot of different quirky instruments and features that really get it going but to be honest it’s just us, in that room, messing about.

Until something clicks and it’s there, iterating over and over again. But it’s not only music all the time, a lot of PlayStation 2 games or finishing uni assignments went on in the studio too.

What does the symbol of cigarettes represent in this song?

It’s overthinking about the past and the future, it’s about the romanticised idea of sitting with a cigarette and thinking about great questions in life; first of all, you don’t really need cigs for that (I stopped smoking years ago) and second of all; sometimes you need to learn to let go.

What is the key to getting this flexible, mellifluous sound?

Honestly it’s our background; our drummer and bass player are way more jazz, breakbeat and hip hop based; while Florian is an insanely skilled pianist who stacks chords like he’s playing jenga. And my strong suit is finding what sticks, what’s catchy and drizzling some psychedelic rock sauce over the base layer. We don’t listen to a lot of rock to be honest, mostly hiphop & 70’s Japanese soft pop.

Mo Bedick Facebook / Instagram
Geertruida Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube / Bandcamp