Tasty New Song From Sludgy Post-Metal Band Beak Will Stream Your Soul
We get a lot of music sent to us here at the esteemed (and downright stanky) MetalSucks Mansion. Some of it is decent, less is stellar, and as you can imagine, tons fall in the disappointing to unlistenable range. So it is always a treat to open our earholes to something new that ends up being worthy/interesting/kickass enough to share with y’all…
When I first put on the new album by Chicago band Beak, entitled Let Time Begin, I honestly wasn’t expecting much. But from the first song “Souls In Streams” (which you can listen to yourself via its recent track premiere on Stereokiller, or simply by pressing play on the Soundcloud widget below), I knew something special was about to unfold.
Beak manage to carry the Neur-Isis post-metal torch into sludgier terrain, while adding several other unique elements that break the mold. For one, Beak’s use of vocoder on this album creates a delicate, luscious, otherworldly textural layer to the sonic palette that in other hands might seem out of place or unnecessary. But here it fits perfectly, feeling like an integral part of the musical storytelling tableau that enhances the heaviness by contrast.
Second song “Light Outside” — which you can also hear through another recent track premiere on The Onion’s AV Club — continued to pique my interest aplenty, and the rest of the album certainly doesn’t disappoint either. Let Time Begin — a concept album about the origins of the Universe — was recorded at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio Studio and John McEntire’s (Tortoise, The Sea and The Cake) Soma Studios, both in Chicago, and produced by the band. The raw, visceral sound highlights the music’s immediacy and vulnerability, but also lends itself to substantial heaviness.
The album comes out on Someoddpilot Records on September 23rd; you can pre-order it now at the band’s website. Beak will play a hometown record release show in Chicago on Friday, September 19th at Beat Kitchen with Anatomy of Habit and Vukari (flyer below).
