Releasedate:   12-09-2025
Label: InsideOut Music

BTBAM return after their longest gap between LPs, this time with a lineup change, their first album as a quartet. No Dustie Waring this time; it’s Paul Waggoner handling all the guitars, and honestly, it’s completely unnoticeable for my ears, this is still BTBAM at its best.

Conceptually it’s classic BTBAM but with a twist: not a linear story, more like pages torn from a journal in a strange hotel called The Blue Nowhere. Vibes over plot. That framing makes sense because the record lives in feelings: loneliness, reflection, little flashes of discovery, while the music ricochets between chaos and clarity in a way only these guys pull off.

They open with “Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark”, and it’s a statement: elastic funk bass, 80s-tinted synth sheen, then the floor caves into blast beats and hooky, feel-good chorus work. It’s the kind of BTBAM track that’s equal parts 80s funky prog and absolute insanity. If you ever listened to King Crimson’s Discipline from the 80s era, imagine if they would try to give those songs a metalcore vibe within certain latter sections funneled by a mid 90s Dream Theater lens. This song in my opinion is a masterpiece, there’s no band out there that is doing what BTBAM is doing.

“God Terror” pivots hard into industrial hostility, breakbeats, gnarled synths, Tommy keeping things very method acting, almost like becoming a completely different person while Blake’s precision keeps the chaos glued together. I personally don’t like this song very much but it just shows another facet of this strange hotel they are conceptualizing. I do have to say the mid synthed out section is quite interesting.

“Absent Thereafter” does the quintessential BTBAM epic thing: chaotic in-your-face aggression up front, a gorgeous piano-and-vocal breather, then celestial soloing and genre detours (bluegrass to death metal) that should not work but for some reason do. It’s interesting to think about the progression they have had in these sort of BTBAM-isms (have fun pronouncing that). I still remember the first time I heard “Mordecai” about 20 years ago and how that blew my mind, this song resonates with that feeling, but with great maturity. This is another masterpiece from this great record.

“Pause” is exactly that, dark ambient swirl to acoustic float, before the curtain lifts on “Door #3”, which is just another great BTBAM track. Not much to add there, it’s what you would expect from them, many riffs, tempos, styles, odd time signature shifts, aggressive to melodic all done in their own peculiar unforgiving style. It ends with the mini-overture “Mirador Uncoil” (ominous piano, strings, woodwinds, and a nasty vocal sting).

The center of gravity here is the two 11-minute heavyweights: “Psychomanteum” and “Slow Paranoia.” The former is a sledgehammer with soundtrack ambitions; the latter leans into show-tune/gothic shuffle and even sneaks in a brass cameo (Ray Hearne from Haken on tuba) before detonating into a big, satisfying climax. I will add that “Slow Paranoia” is one of my favorites. This middle stretch is dense, give it time and it pays you back.

Then the band plays their most polarizing card: “The Blue Nowhere” (title track) dials the aggression down for a reflective, yacht-rock-kissed ballad, no growls, just melody and vibe. It’s disarming, and that’s the point; after the previous gauntlet, this breather hits like 80s sunshine. I can imagine normal people who are not exposed to growls vibing to this track, I enjoy imagining these people getting catfished into listening to the signature chaotic stuff. I would love if this song makes it to the radio.

Closer “Beautifully Human” takes the slow-burn route, acoustic intro, synth swells, an 80s-Crimson-ish arpeggio, and a soaring Waggoner solo that ushers in a last, nourishing chorus.

Production-wise: Pristine but alive. Bass has authority, guitars are sharp without the icepick, and Blake’s drums are thunder with definition. Also worth saying: Waggoner absolutely carries the single-guitar era, layering, leads, the whole lot.

If there’s a nit to pick, it’s that certain transitions and BTBAM-isms feel familiar, like the band is quoting their own language. But the tradeoff is a record that flows, hits hard, and still surprises (funk opener, industrial grind, theatrical detours, a straight-up ballad!) while feeling cohesive. That is for sure something that does not bother me, I love to see how they are developing their own musical language and becoming masters of it. Kind of like when you know you are watching a David Lynch film by recognizing all the Lynch-isms he used to use in his films. I use this film auteur as an analogy because for some reason there were a lot of sections on this album that immediately reminded me of David Lynch, try to figure out what those sections are.

Verdict: The Blue Nowhere is BTBAM doing what they do best, genre alchemy with a quirkiness that is undeniably them, while proving they’re more than fine as a four-piece. It’s dense, aggressive, playful, quirky, sometimes serene, and very replayable.

Standout tracks: Things We Tell Ourselves in the Dark, Absent Thereafter, Psychomanteum, The Blue Nowhere, Beautifully Human.

Line up:

• Tommy Rogers – Vocals, Keyboards
• Paul Waggoner – Guitars
• Dan Briggs – Bass, Keyboards
• Blake Richardson – Drums

Links:

Official
Bandcamp