London's Giant Burger kind of defy genre and description. There are vocals and drums and guitar and bass and keys. There are melodies and there is noise. It's kind of experimental but it's also kind of pop at the same time as being kind of rock and prog and punk and blah blah blah. But then, being made up of a good few members of the now deceased BAANEEX, this kind of skullfuckery is to be expected really.
All that really matters is that I like their songs and hopefully some people who frequent this blog will do too. 'Trapped In Egypt' sounds like the kind of song you might expect to soundtrack a kids' horror TV show, while new track 'Fridges' (taken from a forthcoming four-track cassette on London's Odd Box Records, I think...) hears them at their most self-assured and well-recorded to date. A band increasingly comfortable with their place in the corner of the room with no friends, and I admire that.
As if Baaneex didn't already come across as diverse and eclectic experimenters of sound, two new tracks from the London four-piece sees them moving into yet more unexplored noises. Space Wagon opens with a chomping repetitive bluesy bass-line straight out of Road Rash II before the spacey, piercing guitar interjects and moves things into an all-the-more progressive and psychedelic direction; whereas Weird Dance 8 opens with frantic, Jay Reatard-style guitar scruff only to be interrupted by repeating electro-ish bleeps - and of course both are topped off with their usual anti-social chants. And yet somehow they pull off both with style. Stream and download below.
Good news! Everyone's favourite weirdos BAANEEX return with some new tracks and news of a cassette release.
It's called Ewan H and will be out in around a month through their own Intenstines label. There will be only 25 of them, so don't hang about. Hear a track from it - 'Ewan H 2' - exclusively below and have a re-listen to some of their equally ace earlier material. Suitably weird, I think you'll agree. Can't wait to hear the full tape.
BAANEEX are a band from London. They describe themselves as “Dracula-inspired garage punk/noisepop/roarcore.” Although not especially useful in actually working out how their music is going to sound, this little bio does at least give you a hint that they might be a bit odd.
Indeed they are rather odd. As well as odd, their sound is somewhat wide-spanning and incredibly difficult to pin down. Weird Dance 2 is two songs, or two bands even, in one. All kraut-y influenced weirdness – a looping bassline strutting alongside wobbling synth amidst moments of semi-shouty vocals and even some kazoo – takes up the first few minutes of the track, but is then interrupted by speedily jerked guitar and raucous drums, only for the kraut-y jams to return once more. It’s chaotic and confusing, but exciting, fun and even manages to be catchy.
They’re equally as multi-faced, noisey, screechy and unpredictable with the rest of their recorded output thus far. Picnic Swan sees them verging on almost prog-rock territory, a guitar licks over bass-y blurring and an echoing synth line; dragging on but doing it gracefully for 4 minutes before the synth starts to pierce through, bass swell and drums build. Nothing really happens, but nothing really needs to. Hoovering Concrete is mostly dirty indie rock instrumental jams, only breaking down for periods of Sonic Youth-styled brash noise.
Coool Count, on the other hand, is a one minute catchy, fuzzy pissing-around jam - switching from repetitive spoken word layers to shouty aggression, but what really grabs the attention most is the amusing (and NSFW) vocals/lyrics. And 90 second long Football Round Up is of similar lo-fi instrumental jamming vain.
I’m pretty sure I don’t understand it, and God knows where they’re planning to go with it, but regardless, this is great. Just give it a bloody listen. Debut EP Weird Dance is out on Odd Box Records here.
