The Beat Surrender

There are thirteen tracks on this album and each one is a treat that will keep you guessing. Last time I saw these guys was when I went with a mate to a benefit gig for Comic Relief or the Tsunami (I can’t remember why I was there now) at the Love Apple in Bradford, and I was that impressed, I had to buy the album – well, it was for charity.

So what’s it all about? It’s taken me a while to write this review – I didn’t really know where to start. ‘Self Destruction For Beginners’ is a series of dark stories using nightmarish samples and snippets of sounds. The songs employ lyrics which are complicated but not overly clever, and the use of harmonies on the vocals can be quite disturbing at times, which is great. On first hearing, I thought there was somebody stood outside my garage door chanting “Self Destruction For Beginnersâ€? – then realised he’s always there (on the CD, not outside my garage). There’s also some unsettling imagery in the song lyrics: “Got shaking hands from my all night arc-welding sessions/But it’s the only cure I know for my depression…â€?

Background noises are created by all manner of instruments and implements. This is one of those albums with that much going on, the more you listen, the more little things you keep hearing – the crackle of arc-welders for example – and the variety means you’re not likely to get fed up with it. It’s also a real smooth production; the instruments involved are many and various, but blend together nicely. For example, there’s some really rather excellent horn work, along with the guitars and drums among other sounds such as whispering, whistling, monkey noises (yes, that’s right) and such like; this is all layered together in a slick and seamless fashion. They’re reminiscent of Flipron, both in sound and conceptually; vocally there’s a bit of early Tom Waits in there as well.

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