“Blood Beach” - May Be Fern
Song Review: “Blood Beach”
May Be Fern have been on the forefront of Denver’s music scene since they started releasing music in 2023. In this short time, they’ve maintained a monthly residency at Bar 404, are a mainstay on Indie 102.3, and played a set at Red Rocks Amphitheater. May Be Fern’s song “Blood Beach” signals this growing sense of ambition. It’s a standout on their album Three Of Swords and incorporates playful dark themes that snuggly fit into their unique style of haunting, funky music.
“Blood Beach” begins with the sound of waves, fitting for the proceeding surfer-style guitar and synth riffs that each could have been in a ‘50s rockabilly classic or horror movie soundtrack. The bass feels introspective; the drums balance everything and drive the groove forward. The vocalist has a latent power to their voice, an absolute killer vibrato, and acts as glue to pull all the potentially disparate musical elements together. The first and second verses especially flow and feel like their sung from fabulous Tim Burton characters:
Red-stained canvas, to light up a room
Anywhere it hangs, clean bite, wet fangs
We're going to a party. Invite the whole tomb
Let's all have fun and play
We legit will slay
…
Quick step, fox trot, east coast swing
1518 Dance rot. You're required to sing
We're goin' to a party. Invite the whole tomb
Everybody here in an ancient youth costume
The instrumentation heats up during the pre-chorus/chorus to ring into a groovy witchey chant (“I’ve heard your last words / tell the moon it’s my turn”) that feels like a sonic declaration to the universe – or the vibes of a self-improvement montage. I particularly like how the drums have these syncopated spacey double-hits to drive tension forward and highlight anticipation before the vocalist starts to belt. It’s so cool, and everything about the arrangement feels professional and well-practiced. The song sticks its landing after a spooky, spacey music break and unexpected key change during the last chorus to create a finale-like effect.
At their core, May Be Fern are fantastic musicians. “Blood Beach” alone demonstrates an apparent songwriting and intuitive musical talent. Combined with their frequent performances and exponential trajectory in the local music scene, I don’t think it’ll be long until we all find ourselves at a May Be Fern show dancing like little ghouls to a funky song like “Blood Beach.”
Follow them and find their music here: https://maybefernband.co