BASS DRUM OF DEATH – GB CITY
Bass Drum of Death are punk-rock, in more ways than one. And you have to be ready for that to enjoy GB City, which is grounded in its creators’ blatant disregard for convention and aesthetic, from the DIY production right down to the cheeky cover art (which may as well have “old people suck” written over the billowing smoke clouds and scruffy locks pouring from the duo’s heads). After the first five tunes rush angrily past (barely any reach the three minute mark), we get Spare Room, which stands out. Its half time swagger and filthy monster riff leave space for more interesting guitar playing and floats BDOD’s debut LP into The Black Keys territory – another guitar and drums duo, along with The White Stripes, to which these Mississippi boys will inevitably be compared throughout their careers. Young Pros shows these guys like some 50s pop in their punk – nice – while I Could Never Be Your Man charms with its Queens of the Stone Age overtones and sentimental song writing. Sentimental, that is, compared to the Velvet Itch gem, “I’ve got a velvet itch in my jeans, can you scratch it?”. The outrageous fuzz distortion (in which producer/guitarist John Barrett has drenched every recorded part) becomes wearing quickly, but it goes with the spirit of the project and takes care of the gaps that a bass guitar might otherwise have filled. Good to hear some good, dirty punk-rock from kids who don’t give a…
***1/2
