November 21, 2007

Band To Watch: Clipd Beaks

When you first listen to slinky Cali terrorizers Clipd Beaks, you might think about Liars trying to belt their tribal, Kraut-y Drum's Not Dead or Liars material from a sinking ship. The young Oakland foursome play a blustery, plaster-cast post-punk that's made all the more waterlogged and claustrophobic with a noise-rock's sense of scree and jagged, Sightings-style DNA-peeled rhythms. The sound's tightly rickety, in the best way possible: You get the sense the taut, stuttered rhythm section could come unglued at any second, though, of course, it only does when they feel like it. Then come the vocals: "Melter"'s straight-up touch-me "Mudhoney," imbuing the action with a garage-warped rawness that feels a bit different than where similar acts are situated these days. It's taken some time to gel like so: The Clipd ones have been around since 2003 -- bassist Scott Ecklein and drummer Ray Benjamin have been playing together since they were seven, which might explain the complex, cemented patterns -- but despite an early self-released Gang Caves and last year's Preyers EP on Tigerbeat6, most folks will likely come to the band via their first proper full-length, Hoarse Lords released by the venerable Lovepump United, run by Genghis Tron's Decibel-columnist-in-residence Mookie Singerman, and home to fellow BTW HEALTH. Take a taste of "Melter" along with the dark-psychedelic, brainiac atmospherics of "Black Glass" after the jump.

Clipd Beaks - "Melter" (MP3)
Clipd Beaks - "Black Glass" (MP3)

Both take on the refracted hue of a shattered tinted window -- the album mixes additional shades into the mold, gleefully cracking them to bits. Check out the live show for various doses of the good stuff (they even do some loner psych ... sorta seriously).

11/21 - Providence, Rhode Island @ AS220
11/23 - New York, NY @ The Cake Shop
11/24 - Brooklyn, NY @ Death by Audio (Todd P party)
11/25 - Philadelphia, PA @ Queen Sheba II
11/26 - Baltimore, MD @ The Talking Head
11/27 - Purchase, NY @ SUNY Purchase
11/28 - Washington, DC @ The Velvet Lounge
11/29 - Columbia, SC @ The New Brookland Tavern
11/30 - Atlanta, GA @ Lenny’s
12/01 - Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
12/02 - Hot Springs, AR @ The Exchange
12/04 - Houston, TX @ The Proletariat
12/05 - San Antonio, TX @ The Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar
12/06 - Dallas, TX @ The Public Trust
12/07 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s
12/08 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
12/09 - Albuquerque, NM @ The Curio
12/10 - Phoenix, AZ @ Modified Arts