As the world turned its eyes to millions of gushing Grizzly Bear reviews on May 26, a shit-hot record dropped with little fanfare (HERE is the only review I could find, and while I like the writing I don’t feel they quite Got It).
UNTIL NOW: If you don’t have Gay Beast‘s Second Wave, you need to come out of the effing closet already and snap up a copy on vinyl before it goes out of print. This is the real deal, people: Think echo-laden come-hither croons, criss-crossing synth ribbons, Arab On Radar guitar stabs and a tweaky drummer with the sort of canny determination it takes to completely change the way rock rhythms work, twisting and bending traditional percussive patterns to bring home the bass-drum bacon and sop up every last sensation of the snare.
GB’s approach to skronk-ridden post-punk reminds me of the kitchen-sink mantra Genghis Tron applied to tech-heavy grind-metal. They pull out all the stops one can imagine on their way to anti-pop paydirt, and they package the chaos in such a way as to render it — not safe, per say, but — manageable, like a huge pile of work that just got streamlined into a few file folders and handy-dandy personal calendars.
Variety always seems to be a problem for albums like Second Wave, and yet it is another common conundrum Gay Beast have tamed thoroughly. They never rely on one aspect of their sound too heavily, resulting in output you can’t really ascribe to one trait. The synths will strangle your ear with trebly Casio bliss during one outing, but soon enough it’ll be the riveting guitar cutting, glorious drumming or the singer’s your-way-my-way-anything-goes-tonight way of laying just the right vocal over a constantly deviating sea of deathly drivel.
And I mean “drivel” in the best possible way. I’m totally all gay over this band and I’m not shy about expressing it. So rare is it to find delicate, precise balance wrapped in such a fucked-up packaging — Gay Beast are a cut above the spazz stuff making the rounds of late, and the extra ingredient is care.
It actually doesn’t surprise me a ton that these guys are from Minneapolis; one of my all-time favorite punk bands Tora! Tora! Torrance!, who also employed a similarly swooping, all-hands-on-deck approach to their craft, hailed from the same general area.
Some fucked up folk come out of those parts, to be sure (Marv?). Here’s a video of them Getting all Gay in New York.
Skin Graft records has been quite disappointing over the years, but this album is great. Forget Aids Wolf, Pre, and Holy Smokes….big yawns. Aids Wolf has 3 interesting songs at most. Both AW and Pre only draw people because they have chicks in panties. Gay Beast has actual talent here! Gay it up Boys!
haha, i agree that the boobies sell, and i used to not be as into AIDS Wolf, but both bands still hold water in my book. and the holy smokes were at least interesting …
Hello and thanks for the review! We’re playing Denver @ Rhinoceropolis on July 12 w/ two recently released 7″ singles in tow. Open invitation to any readers: come out and see us if you’re so inclined!
Thanks again,
I / GB
i might actually have to check that out, thanks for the heads-up!