Beak> - Obscure Classics ( Review )

Beak > ( 2009 )

One of Geoff Barrow from Portishead's many side projects, Beak> is an intriguing outfit, and essential listening for those that enjoyed the darker musical furrow plowed by Portishead on their wonderful album Third.
Hard to define, but most commonly described as Krautrock, although whether that's been offered by the band or a media description I'm unsure of, it's true that beak evolves the preoccupation with Krautrock that was evident on Third, but it also manages to run it's influences through an unmistakenly English filter that recalls everyone from Joy Division to Black Sabbath, to produce an often unsettling, but never boring album.

Billy Fuller and Matt 'Team Brick' Williams join Barrow in this three piece, and everything on here was written and recorded over twelve days in the studio, with no overdubs. Clearly those looking for a tightly structured set of songs should look elsewhere, but for those keen for something a little more adventurous, read on.
Opener, Backwell jumps into fizzy life with some pure Neu motorik and creepy but catchy organ work - music from a carnival where you wouldn't turn your back on the clowns.
The Cornubia is probably their calmest moment, with a ghostly chorus of voices accompanying a steady metric drumbeat and slinky Mogwai-esque bassline.

Ham Green sounds a lot like Link Wray's Rumble, only played by Black Sabbath's rhythm section at half speed with a witches coven chanting in the background.
Battery Point crests in on a wave of delicately shimmering guitars and is a beauty that Explosions in the Sky would happily find a home for on one of their albums.

Blagdon Lake is a more lively affair with it's insistent beat and post-punk informed bassline.
Barrow Gurney on the otherhand is a wall of screeching electronic feedback that I'm almost convinced was my modem trying to turn me into Jack Torrance.
Dundry Hill is the creepiest thing here ( perhaps anywhere ) with it's tribal pagan percussion, walls of drones and vocals that sound like someone dangling a microphone down a haunted well.
Ultimately it's Barrow doing exactly what he wants to do, and you get the impression that he doesn't really give a damn if you care for it or not. For those of us that do this is a pretty engrossing listen.
For those who want to hear more they also contributed a cover of Welcome to the Machine to Mojo's Dark Side of the Moon / Wish You Were Here covers album, which sounds like an unearthed Joy Division cover.

BUY BEAK> ON CD HERE

Geoff Barrow Promises Another Portishead Album

Portishead's Geoff Barrow has confirmed that work on their fourth album will start soon "We've been getting together recently and talking about lots of stuff. There's definitely going to be another record, we're just going to get on it as soon as my studio gets working."
"We've not got anything at all down, but for me doing things like Drokk and Beak and lots of other things I've got my finger in has made me realise that that's the way forward for me, just to keep on making music, so I don't stop, so it doesn't become an issue. I can just carry on writing, get the momentum going - that's what everyone wants really, to feel able."
He's also admitted that the band are staunchly adverse to the idea of their albums being reissued in deluxe edition formats, so unless there's a lot of pressure from their label it seems those of us hoping for a 20th anniversary edition of Dummy in 2014 will be disappointed.
He said that special editions had become a "dirty word" in the group, arguing that they are simply a tool to "squeeze more money" out of fans.
I tend to argue that fans will already have the original edition, and that there's plenty of ways for them to sample or read reviews about any potential bonus material and make an informed decision before buying, so why not let the fans make their own decisions?

Malachai - The Ugly Side of Love - Obscure Classics

Great albums you may have missed.


Malachai - The Ugly Side of Love ( 2009 )

The debut album from this Bristol two piece is one of the more appealing underground releases of the last few years. Combining a love for the music of the late sixties / early seventies with the cut and paste aesthetic of artists like Madlib and Edan this has the feel of a much loved mix tape passed among friends. The ghosts of Hendrix, the Beatles, Cream, the Small Faces and more are evoked often here, and while most songs contain a lot of sampling, the duo's pop smarts are too dominant to turn this into just another piece of turntableism. The foundations of many of these songs are built from samples sure, but songcraft is just as important to these two - check out the killer choruses on Snowflake and Another Sun to see what I mean.




They're also pretty adept at creating songs from samples that sound like they're being played by a live band. This is a serious muso's dream album - there's so much going on that there's always something you hadn't noticed popping out of the mix, and the patchy joins between some of the samples just add to the charm.
Geoff Barrow from Portishead is a huge fan and originally released this on his label before it was rereleased for the international market by Domino. He's also got a co-write and co-production credit - Fading World is the most Portishead like track here.



They share with Portishead a rare ability to blur musical boundaries to create something which sounds totally fresh out of ingredients that should have been well past their use by date.
Their second album Return to the Ugly Side is amazing too - much darker and made to be listened to as a whole.