Ed Schrader’s Music Beat are a two-piece band from Baltimore who play elemental, stripped-down postpunk, and who find a surprising amount of variation in that description. Frontman Schrader sings while banging on a rudimentary drum kit — one he plays standing up — and a metronomic rhythmic pulse is just about the only connecting thread running through all the duo’s songs. They can do frothy, feral trashcan screams, demented psychedelic garage, and tunefully sinister indie-pop. Schrader’s voice is a baritone croon, and it serves them well whether they’re sprinting or sidling. Opening for fellow Baltimore band Future Islands at a Charlottesville tea house last fall, they pounded away confidently in front of a crowd that didn’t know anything about them. They carry themselves well.
Jazz Mind, the duo’s debut album, blasts through its 11 songs in 21 minutes, but it finds plenty of colors and moods before ending. The band recorded the album with Twig Harper, of Baltimore noise fixtures Nautical Almanac. And though there’s not exactly an experimental-skree element to what they do, I have to imagine that Harper helped capture the toothy menace that makes the album so compelling. A couple of big collaborators also show up: No Age’s Randy Randall on “When I’m In A Car” and playful dance-music experimenters Matmos on “Right.”
Download “When I’m In A Car” and “Gas Station Attendant” below.
Jazz Mind is out now on Upset The Rhythm.
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- Variation of post-punk (in a volatile, chaotic way) = Good
- Album over in 21 minutes = Good
Looking forward to hearing more from these two. Two dudes in a band is the perfect number of members to have.
I love music with a beat!
*insert comment about how you guys have taken too long to write about this band*
Man, I almost did not bother clicking on these songs because the band’s name sets a new standard for boring…which would would have been a shame because they’re really good.
Personally, I’d be drawn to the name “Ed Schrader’s Music Beat” if I saw it on some dude’s iTunes playlist or something. It’s more interesting than “Grizzly Bear”, at least.
How? Grizzly Bear sounds like they might rock. That’s a ferocious animal, ironically, unlike the band. These bands need to swap names.
I saw these guys live once when they opened for YACHT and Lightning Bolt (it was a weird show).
They were good and its nice to hear some recorded music from them.
I’ve seen these guys twice in the past month or so. Incredible live set! Very excited excited for this album.
ZZZZZZZ
ED SCHRADER SHOWWWW http://youtu.be/dATcquPFEK4
beat this