Birthmarks is the fifth studio album by American post-punk band Bambara. It was released on March 14, 2025, by Bella Union and Wharf Cat Records. Produced by Graham Sutton, Birthmarks is the band's first release since its 2022 EP Love On My Mind, and its first full-length album Stray in 2020.
AllMusic gave the album a rating of 3.5 out of five and stated "there is more of a conceptual storyline to this album, involving a character named Elena and the man who murdered her boyfriend."
Louder Than War referred to it as "possibly their most accessible album to date, full of gothic post punk drama from the Bateh brothers," and assigned it a rating of 4.5 out of five, while DIY Magazine rated it three stars, noting "much of Birthmarks instead appears confusing, unable to find its groove. In essence, not one for those who actively avoid spoilers, perhaps."
The Quietus described the album as "a collection of speak-sing story-songs that has both a commercial sheen and an underlying eeriness," and BrooklynVegan remarked "Whoever is responsible for this sonic renovation, huzzah, because Birthmarks sounds like a million bucks in all the right ways and the band's essential Bambara-ness never gets lost in the gloss."
Credits for Birthmarks adapted from Bandcamp.