BEAT is the second album by New York band Bowery Electric, released 1996. BEAT- so how good is it?
BEAT is a decidedly miserable record. As the browns and overcast greys of the album cover suggest, this album is downtrodden to say the least. The opening title track has this unnerving ambient drone and intermittent bass hits before being joined by this punishing, repeating drum loop. the track's vocals only pop up occasionally, and they sort of exist in this chameleon form- they don't make their presence known and disappear as readily as they came, and the vocalist Martha Schwendener pretty much just repeats "Words are just noise. Words are only noise." The track is dusted with this layer of vinyl crackling that really adds to the agedness of the record. The track also has this extremely simple bass motif that feels like it sits alongside the drums rather than complementing them in any way. If you're not into this track... well, you probably aren't gonna get a whole lot out of the rest of the record either.
Second track EMPTY WORDS shows off some shoegaze influence with this lethargic atmospheric guitar work behind this slightly off-kilter drum loop. The weirdness of the snare hits almost evokes the feeling that a computer generated what it thinks a "danceable" drum loop should sound like- but it feels just out of rhythm. The minimalist lyrics convey alot of emotion ( or maybe lack thereof) in just a few words. The track adds to this feeling of this oppressive, post industrial dystopia that the record creates, with rhythm clanging metal reverberating and inescapable as the "phrases on tv that mean nothing". Great track!
The drumbeat on WITHOUT STOPPING is even more punishing against this rushing sound of wind that could be a guitar or a synthesiser, and this forlorn bassline. The lyrics are as hopeless: "The more you run//The further away you are//The more you hurry//The later you'll become". The track is occasionally accented by these estranged guitar motifs that feel lost in the track, as if they're lost but keep walking in circles back to the same place.
UNDER THE SUN is an instrumental track with this layer of distortion blanketing an echoing guitar line, and that's it. The guitar line never feels like it resolves- the track evokes the idea of being far away from the rhythm of the city- the track has no drums- instead only being kept company by the indifferent wind and the unsteadiness of this guitar part. It's one of the less impactful tracks overall but adds to the record nonetheless.
FEAR OF FLYING has this boards of canada esque beat with some fantastic guitar work. It feels living and breathing, it's strangely vibrant, if not weathered and scarred by age, rounded off at the edges. It's probably the closest thing the album has to a "jam" or a "tune"- as you may have figured this album's style doesn't much lend itself to that- but the track has a strange optimism to it. The lyrics are about dream, which could indicate this slightly more optimistic tone is only possible in dreams. Another great track.
LOOPED is another instrumental track- it feels kind of like waking up from the dream of the previous track, with similar sort of noises, but no joy or optimism- a hollow empty reminder of the dank, crumbling walls you've woken up in. The track is on the shorter end at about 2 mins 30 but is still emotionally resonant.
The huge punishing drums return on BLACK LIGHT: the ride cymbal on this track rings and resonates and sounds almost like tinnitus. The other layers of instrumentals weave around the mix, each ambient texture desperately climbing on top of eachother to be heard in the mix. The lyrics sound like this fucked up relationship dissolving in slow motion: "I want to take your breath away", "Every day he breaks his promise". The middle of the track is dominated by this huge sound that sounds like the titular black light scanning over a whole city, blocking out the sun in the process. It just sounds imposing and terrifying, a monolithic piece of music.
INSIDE OUT is the first instrumental to have drums- like the previous tracks, the cymbals whirl around into this singular blanket- but the main body of this track is listening to the bass guitar enact a call and response with this sprawling out wall of tech-y noise- it feels like the bass is being inputted into a machine and it's spitting out meaningless noise and sound artifacts (not unlike being at university at the moment!) - and this track is another 7 minute piece on the record. It does drag a bit, but isn't expressly boring.
"Penultimate track" COMING DOWN, as it's name suggests, certainly feels like the beginning of the end- the drums are invigorated and standing to attention, and the track just feels like it has this expressed darkness at it's centre, like a black hole that everything's revolving around. The idea of "coming down" leads nicely into the "closer":
POSTSCRIPT is a 16 minute ambient drone piece. The simple repeating oscillating drone sound is oddly stirring and reflective, it's joined a few minutes in by another synth part sitting just below it in the mix too. It's slight distortion gives it this rough around the edge feeling that adds a feeling of unease to it, layers gracefully weave over atop eachother as the track progresses until it all comes to a natural end. But wait- there's more! The album has a hidden track at the end called LOW DENSITY- an even more depressingly end to the record, with low level feedback and electronic hums carrying this album alongside a defeated, boxy, down-and-out sounding drum beat to finish then record off- it doesn't quite feel like it's resolved, which definitely adds to the record, it feels dystopic and hopeless, and perfectly summarises and wraps up the record. Mwah!
So this album isnt for everyone. But i enjoyed it, so give it a listen if it sounds like your thing- it's certainly not for everyone, but if you're into ambient-electronic-shoegaze type records you might get a kick out if it. Check it out!
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