These days, the concept of bedroom pop has been co-opted by wider forces, with even commercial record labels using the tag for their slick studio productions. But Dunebug, the new recording project of Manchester-born Chi Limpiroj, embraces the true DIY aesthetic of the genre. And her self-titled debut EP really was recorded in her bedroom.
To say Dunebug rose from the ashes of Limpiroj’s previous project, Chi & the Twelfth Wall, is slightly misleading. Five years passed after the band split before a move to London saw Limpiroj pick up a guitar once more, a spell where she not only matured as a person but grew to love music once more. A debut EP and several singles soon followed, as well as a band for live performances, and this year will see the release of Dunebug’s debut full-length.
The Dunebug EP was said to echo “feelings of love, loss, and everything in between,” and the new album looks to builds on such themes. Take lead single ‘Impossible With You’, its rich sound balancing sunny shimmers with a dark pulling weight underneath, leading to a bittersweet sound that weighs what could be lost versus what might be possible in the aftermath of a failing relationship.
The song is “about being trapped in a relationship with someone who won’t let you blossom,” Limpiroj explains. “How there are so many things that you want to do in life but they are all completely impossible to achieve whilst you’re with that person, who has essentially become a shadow over you and all the decisions you choose to make in life.” The languid flow belies this empowered tone, the decision to move on presented not as some melodramatic break but rather a slow dawning realisation, or the decision to finally admit what has been apparent for so long. As Limpiroj puts it, “it’s about finally getting out and having the courage to walk away.”
‘Impossible With You’ is out now, and the album will be released this September, so be sure to keep an eye on the Dunebug Bandcamp for more information.