Beams

Confident electro-rock. Matthew Dear returns with an album that’s more interesting, less moody, and much much funkier than his previous efforts. Watch out for funky bass stabs, playful synthesizers and Dears manly droning vocals. The first half contains some true gems, but the second half is somewhat more forgettable. Play this if you like indie rock but still feel like nodding along to the beat every now and then.

Try: 3, 1, 5, 11
FCC: Clean

1) 6:16 * Upbeat, bouncy. Whistles and jungle sounds. Laid back cosmic vibes and deep vocals.
2) 3:36 Trippy wobbly drum beats. Joy Division - ‘Transmission”-esque bass line with drawn out vocal exercises.
3) 3:48 ** Cool beat and rhythm. Slow, dirty, and hip-twistingly funky. Sharp contrast between deep beat and shrill synths. Extremely cool all around.
4) 5:02 Repetitive, cyclic. Looping vocal layers mixed with swooning synths and plucking keys. Weird haunted 70 second outro.
5) 4:18 * Guitar-driven with funky bass. Left/right channel playfulness, interesting patterns. Sharp and focused.
6) 3:14 Aggressive, vocal-driven. Fast paced, loud, and intense.
7) 3:50 Back to the slow and moody vibes. Twisted vocals, schizophrenic vibe.
8) 3:51 Weirdly slow and deconstructed track. No real melody to work with.
9) 4:44 Electronic experiments. Long instrumental intro, dramatic vocals. Steady beat, solid pace. Pensieve James Murphy, is this you?
10) 4:33 Haunted bleeps and blops, electronic glitches. Some dark lyrics on this one. Beware. Stubborn and dark.
11) 6:10 * Cool electo backdrop. Light and airy. Solemn vibes. There’s a vocoder, too.