NIGHT BEATS, TERRY MALTS, THE SHROUDS
Night Beats - Any number of bands cite 60's Texas psych as an influence, but rarely does a group actually capture what made those bands special. Following their debut EP also on Trouble In Mind, The Night Beats have expanded on the bedroom immediacy of their first recordings to create an LP that perfectly captures and modernizes the hallucinogenic and exhilaratingly demonic aura of bands like The 13th Floor Elevators and Golden Dawn. With blazing guitar work and a razor sharp rhythm section Danny Lee Blackwell and company mutate conventional chords & progressions into a mind-blowing sonic sprawl. The record reels you in with 2-3 minute pop songs like 'Ain't Dumbo' and 'Dial 666,' forging a landscape that then throws you into a chaotic journey of jams a'la 'Dewayne's Drone' and 'Little War in the Midwest' that bend and meander but never overstay their welcome.
www.facebook.com/thenightbeats.u.s
Terry Malts’ Facebook page says they’re “thriving on barely trying,” which is an honest autobiography for the punk-drunk reincarnation of San Francisco’s beloved Magic Bullets. Talking with hometown blog Positive Destruction about “Fun Night,” a track from one of their previously released 7’’s, bassist-singer Phil Benson doesn’t feign depth or great effort: “You know, all of this is really simple. There’s no mystery. When you read what I’m actually saying—I’m talking about hamburgers.” And in the case of their debut full-length Killing Time, it's all weekends and wannabe girlfriends—but it’s with crystal-clear articulation and great aplomb. While so many of their cohorts habitually use lo-fi production to bury vocals and skirt any sort of statement, the fact that his lyrics vividly push through the fuzz has to mean something.
The Shrouds - www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shrouds/182974641740164
