“Steve everything you listen to sounds the same. How is this different to the last band?”
Gritting grotty sinewy punk is a many splendoured thing. The Gotobeds were recommended to me by my buddy Matt (see the Ozzy Osbourne post for more about him) one afternoon while we pinged bad jokes back and fourth over company emails between doing our real work.
We’d been daring each other to see who could get the furthest into the worst albums ever made. I’d given up on ELP’s turgid Love Beach about three songs in as I’d been sick in my mouth. I demanded a pallet cleanser and billed him for new speakers (or at least a few sessions of therapy for my existing speakers). Matt yielded and the link for Calquer The Hound was sent through with a tip off that the album Debt Begins At 30 was Matt’s current pot of jam.
Matt knew I’d like them. He was dead right. I’d have taken to The Gotobeds even if I wasn’t running from the horror of ELP in their “sexy” phase looking for a plaid shirt to cry into. Matt is a true believer, thus he knows his Shoegaze from his Normcore Stoner Jam.
This brings me to the quote at the top. There are people who find the delicatessen thin slices of difference between say Les Savy Fav or The Gotobeds or even Fucked Up and Culture Abuse as fascinating variants on an exquisite menu. I’ll shop at this deli most days of the week. A little The Cribs thinly cut next to a base of Babyshambles and drizzled with a Shogun And The Sheets jui.
There is also the 99%. The ones who are (probably) right. This sounds just like Lo-Fi noisy punk with a feeble production. All sausages taste the same. Italian ham is a flavour. Not a world of foodie complexity.
You’ll notice this isn’t a post for Calquer The Hound but for Twin Cities. It’s got a nice boy girl duet dynamic with an analogue down the wire second vocal from guest Tracy Wilson (Once of the rather nifty Dahlia Seeds) who was out on loan from Positive No! and a pretty great lo-fi video too. You’re welcome.
I’d proffered that Matt should listen to Kingofthehill who I once saw open for Extreme for his punishment. We couldn’t find it online so he settled for III Sides To Every Story by Nien Nunb Bettingshop’s band. We recognise the gratification the graphic designer must have felt making the last E in Extreme also the Roman numeral III was the best thing about the whole album. He never got past side II.
The Gotobeds on the other hand. They’re exquisite if you’ve developed the pallet for it.
Happy New Year!
Steve For The Deaf 