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Three years ago, back in 2008, The Beets began their garage-y, sporadic, and minimalist percussion rock up in New York. After a few years of scraping under the radar and keeping to punk scene of up north, The Beets have made their way into the eye of those previously unfamiliar with their lo-fi stylings. Although still lo-fi in nature, this band has come a long way from their original sound, which was muddied to the extent that it consumed the entirety of the music. After cleaning up their sound and holding on to the best bits, they are able to emerge as skilled crafters of the garage sound.
First up is “You Don’t Want The Kids To Be Dead,” which gently eases you into the fuzzy, campy sound that the Beets are doling out. Juan Wauters’ mousy voice wavers with the jangle of the guitar and the soft drum beats barely making themselves apparent. It establishes the lighthearted attitude that is the backbone of the sound on this album, and allows you get familiar with this breezy style of jam, if you hadn’t already waded into the waters of The Beets. Up next is “Now I Live,” relying on the vocals to carry it through the minute and a half in which it lasts, until the third track “Preso Voy,” is up. Third up, this song is entirely in Spanish, which if anything increases the interest level, latching onto syllables belted out with heightened emotion.
As far as this style of records go, The Beets follow the pattern that has become synonymous with punk-garage rock: more than ten songs of which only one reaches above the three minute mark. However, whereas most bands tend to fall victim to this structure, The Beets manage to use it to their advantage, avoiding that dreaded repetitive monotony that can sometimes accompany such choppy albums. You have songs coupled together such as “As The World,” which relies on feminine ooh’s to keep it chugging along, and “I Don’t Know,” which comes across as one of, if not the most, old-timey songs on this album. Together, they balance each other out, to make for a meet in the middle groove, keeping The Beets above banal sound and makes for a standout among other releases of this genre.
Let the Poison Out is sure to live in your CD player for a while; its brevity ensuring that you’ll be singing right along in no time.
For me, 2011 has been an excellent reemergence (in my life, at least) of the punk rock. One of the most recent albums I’ve been spinning a lot lately has come from Denton’s VIDEO. The band is comprised of members of Wax Museums and Bad Sports, bands I’ve already raved about. They just released their album, Leather Leather, on Play Pinball! Records, and it’s nothing but a rocking adventure, harkening back to the grittier days of rock n’ roll. On the track below, the song just builds and builds, exploding in the chorus in dramatic fashion, giving you an impression of a killer live show sure to come (12/28 in Austin). If you’re looking to get your blood boiling, then look no further than right here! And head to the record store to pick up your copy, as you can see that it’s got some unique packaging; I think it’s their to hide the fury inside.
