Friday, September 03, 2004
The Beta Band - Hereos To Zeros
Thought it was about time I tried something new, so on the way out this morning, I delved into the new music basket. (I'm so fond of buying a few CDs in the sales - especially from Fopp - that I tend to have a backlog of unlistened-to music. These go in a separate pile to ensure they don't get lost and find their way into the main CD racks without first receiving some attention.)
I'm a sucker for a new musical idea. One day I'd love to go through my collection and work out the influence that caused me to buy each artist : a friend's recommendation, a review, hearing it in a shop, parental choice... My attention was first drawn to the Beta Band through the film High Fidelity (and presumably the book, as well), in the scene where Rob puts on their Three EP's album specific to sell five copies. "Who is that?" a customer asks. "The Beta Band," replies Rob. "It's good!". "I know." Perfect. 'Dry The Rain's' catchy muted trumpet caught his customers, and it caught me, too.
Back then, the band were true rock experimentalists; you wouldn't go as far as to class most of their tracks as 'songs'. But Heroes to Zeros finds the Edinburgh foursome continuing their steady transition away from pure sonic doodling towards a more coherent sound. It's alienated more than a few of their fans, but I'm enjoying the change. There's only so much randomness you can take!
And I've taken to this album straight away. The opening few tracks showcase a powerful sound, with noticeably more guitar in the mix. A range of guitar sounds, too - I was thinking of U2, 60s pysch-fans Traffic and various grunge groups as each new piece started. But that doesn't mean we're darting around; it meshes together pretty well.
Favourite track was "Out-Side" - definitely borrowing more than a bit from the Monkees' "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", but hey, what's wrong with that? And pleasingly, it's not a long dirge of an album; the second half returns to a more experimental sound, but it's restrained and doesn't outstay its welcome. An interesting transition, then, as the tracks start with solid pieces but gradually fade away - from Hereos to Zeros, you might say.
I'm a sucker for a new musical idea. One day I'd love to go through my collection and work out the influence that caused me to buy each artist : a friend's recommendation, a review, hearing it in a shop, parental choice... My attention was first drawn to the Beta Band through the film High Fidelity (and presumably the book, as well), in the scene where Rob puts on their Three EP's album specific to sell five copies. "Who is that?" a customer asks. "The Beta Band," replies Rob. "It's good!". "I know." Perfect. 'Dry The Rain's' catchy muted trumpet caught his customers, and it caught me, too.
Back then, the band were true rock experimentalists; you wouldn't go as far as to class most of their tracks as 'songs'. But Heroes to Zeros finds the Edinburgh foursome continuing their steady transition away from pure sonic doodling towards a more coherent sound. It's alienated more than a few of their fans, but I'm enjoying the change. There's only so much randomness you can take!
And I've taken to this album straight away. The opening few tracks showcase a powerful sound, with noticeably more guitar in the mix. A range of guitar sounds, too - I was thinking of U2, 60s pysch-fans Traffic and various grunge groups as each new piece started. But that doesn't mean we're darting around; it meshes together pretty well.
Favourite track was "Out-Side" - definitely borrowing more than a bit from the Monkees' "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", but hey, what's wrong with that? And pleasingly, it's not a long dirge of an album; the second half returns to a more experimental sound, but it's restrained and doesn't outstay its welcome. An interesting transition, then, as the tracks start with solid pieces but gradually fade away - from Hereos to Zeros, you might say.
# posted by Sam : 18:11
