BETHLEHEM CASUALS Psych-Jazz Oddballs Announce ‘Change’

Hailing from Manchester, Bethlehem Casuals are a veritable bag of psych-jazz rock oddballs.

Proof that seven heads are always better than one, the group have been magnetising audiences across the North of England and beyond with their infectiously idiosyncratic compositions, strung-out live shows and, of course, their notably laid-back nature. It’s in the name.

With a whirlwind sound that infuses a world of influences, heady grooves and tribal drum circles all with a distinctly urban twist of folk rock, the music Bethlehem Casuals create could perhaps be dubbed “urban rock styled DIY world music”. Or would that be too simple?

Offering a new track for you to make your own mind up, the Casuals are pleased to release: ‘Change’.

Your standard love ballad, this ain’t. Instead, ’Change’ is one of many songs the band have been inspired to write that apparently follows the narrative: “of a pet dog who is escaping a boring life to find out why there is no music left in Manchester”.

From its soupy mutant jazz origins to its dancefloor splitting cosmic disco tempo-shifts, ‘Change’ sounds like Steely Dan sweating with an unexpected bout of Saturday Night Fever. In the best kind of way.