For Beak>’s third album, musical director Geoff Barrow has leapt even further into old school synths, delivering a work of intense, rootsy krautrock that displays the distinctive ‘90s hip-hop production that he honed with Portishead.
Standout moments include the stunning Allé Sauvage, a track built out of a whipped synth motif that loops and explores like a Bach fugue. It’s a marvellous piece of music that demonstrates the band's expertise in crunchy, lo-fi drums and booming, bassy synth voices. It’s compelling for the duration of its seven minutes, and acts as a creative centrepiece for the whole album.
Elsewhere, RSI is a racing piece that emerges in similar trance-inducing fashion, and Beak>’s best work comes when the songs feel extemporised.
The playing is always restrained - solos are never too showy - which renders a distinctive stoner quality that likewise characterises a lot of Portishead’s work. But it can also misfire. The balance has to be right, and the hook has to work.
When it is less convincing, songs come and go without seeming to land a punch. That is shown on Abbots Leigh, which feels more like a university band's jam. It opens with a freeform soundscape, which is great, but the composition that emerges feels dated and underwhelming. As a live happening, it has integrity and character - and it feels truly cinematic - but as a song, it is conceptually weak.
Barrow’s oeuvre is interesting. As a music-maker, he often appears more concerned with the overall sonic palette than the mechanics of writing songs, and that gives his work a stable colour. But for all the production expertise ‘>>>’ is a little inconsistent. It would make an amazing film soundtrack, and Barrow's work in movies has surely informed his compositional practice, but as an album it is frustratingly hit and miss.
Beak Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu October 04 2018 - SHEFFIELD Foundry
Sat November 24 2018 - GLASGOW Mono
Sun November 25 2018 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Riverside
Mon November 26 2018 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Tue November 27 2018 - LONDON Dome
Wed November 28 2018 - OXFORD O2 Academy Oxford
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