Album Review: BEAK> - >>

BEAK>
>>
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Thankfully in the ridiculously long interim between new Portishead records, Geoff Barrow is kind enough to at least work on other projects that can whet our appetites in the mean time. Barrow's BEAK> project shows off his love of Krautrock, delivering tight, relentless tracks of locked in grooves and abrasive instrumentation. It's as if Can and NEU! were dragged kicking and screaming back into existence. These elements found their way into the last Portishead record Third, but were distilled through the prism of his other band mates. It is through this project Barrow is able to truly indulge his passion. With this second album >>, not much has changed stylistically, there is still the motorik beats and whirl and buzz of analog synths, however, unlike >, it is not as relentlessly dour and claustrophobic; there is a more driving purpose to these tracks that moves things onward.

Of course, >> starts off in a similar vein to the debut with "The Gaol," a sludgy, dour track of cavernous drums and hallucinatory Italian horror film synths before moving into the brisk rhythms of "Yatton," Barrow sounding looser than he has in ages.



>> works best when it allows the rhythms to propel the tracks forward. "Liar," the shortest track on the record at 2:21, is practically speed metal in comparison to the other tracks. The drums kick start into a relentless groove, with an almost funky bass line, before old school analog synth patches take over. The slower building "Eggdog" starts from rumbling bass and soporific drumming to a more intensive groove bullied by droning organ and analog synths.



Album centerpiece, and best track on the record, is the imposing "Wulfstan II," Barrow seeming to channel the ghost of Ian Curtis for vocals, as the pounding drums and spiky guitar blasts are leavened by haunting shards of organ.



For me, at any rate, some of the other tracks get a little too lost in portentous atmospheres of doom and gloom. "Spinning Top," while grooving to a nice lockstep beat, never really goes beyond its dour bassline and mumbled vocals.



"Ladies' Mile" is a long, meandering track of analog synth waves that gets more annoying as it progresses, while closing track "Kidney" does almost the same thing but adds gritty guitar lines and a funereal beat. And it's not that I don't have an affinity for more somber tracks, indeed, one of the best tracks on >> is the haunting, early Cure referencing "Deserters" which is all about atmosphere and attitude.



Overall, Barrow has improved on what made > a little too gloomy for me. By letting in a little more variety and some whimsy, >> is certainly, while not necessarily a party record, a more upbeat affair, and will definitely bide us time until the new Portishead record.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.