Beak, the trio of drummer Geoff Barrow (Portishead), bassist Billy Fuller (Robert Plant’s Sensational Space Shifters) and keyboardist/guitarist Will Young (Moon Gangs), surprise-released what is easily the group’s best record yet which A) plays great as a seamless album experience, yet B) has plenty of standout cuts, and C) sports what will surely be my Album Cover of the Year when December comes. (That’s Barrow’s dog and band mascot Alfie, who passed on during the making of the album. RIP, Alf.) This trio have had a very distinctive style since day one — a murky, rhythmic mix from a wide variety of ’70s head music — but they have never sounded more in the zone than here.
While the group wouldn’t be Beak> without Barrow’s drumming and vocals, and Young’s woozy synths and arpeggiated guitar-work, it’s Fuller’s amazing bass lines that lift this one to the top of the heap. There’s a fungal, peat moss vibe to what they do (Fuller says Beak> sound like “we were coming out of the ground”) that carries across the variety of sounds found on >>>>, be it folk (“Hungry Are We”), Can-style grooves (“The Seal,” “Ah Yeh”), doomy prog (“Windmill Hill”) or claustrophobic synthwave (“Secrets”). Then there’s awesome closer “Cellophane” that starts off as a bad trip and ends in near-metal acid rock freakout. What they do is not for everyone, but if your brain is wired this way, put on some good headphones and get ready for Beak> to crack your egg.
Taken from the album 〉〉〉〉out now on Invada Records / Temporary Residence:
The Fat Angel Sings 