Beard Of Wolves are a two piece from Wales, dealing in what they refer to as noisy garage-rock with a nu-rave twist. What this translates to for you, the listener, is a trip back in time to Rhythm Of The Night by Corona, before flashing forward to a trashy, everything-at-once future of robot vocals and blown-out bass.
My Father Drives The Deathstar is a world-class example of how to blast unsuspecting speakers with as much power as possible after a relatively innocuous chart-dance beginning. Complete with the high-register vocals so beloved of the house massive (big up), this carefree number bounces along quite happily, knowing that its purpose is to get you shaking and moving in a closed-eyed-open-mouth sort of way. As a two piece, this must be enthralling live, but sadly no footage could be found of their performances. The 11 second promo video features a swift chorus of Wet Mouth, which makes BoW sound a lot like Lightning Bolt. The bass tone, vocals and brevity of the snippet instantaneously references the Rhode Island mentalists, and while nowhere near as barking, the spirit is definitely shared.
The scarring aggro of Dead Heart is the best track on offer here, ripping out of the blocks like QOTSA if Nick Oliveri was playing through everyone’s amps at once, with all of Homme’s effects on at once. If there is one criticism to be levelled at the tracks in question, it is that the snare drum sounds like a bursting bag of crisps, and not the fat rifle-crack that would better fit the band’s style. There’s a tiny, tiny bit of Beck in the clean vocal as well, though much more focused than his distinctive slur. One can imagine this carpet-bombing dancefloors everywhere, the immediately danceable call-and-response nature of the chorus and pant-loosening drums in the tracks closing moments giving it real potency.
Date Fight ably closes proceedings with a flicker of disco drumming, repetitious lyricism and a gnarlingly simple breakdown. Nothing on evidence here would suggest that BoW are anything but a right laugh live. If anything, this selection of songs is too short-I was just getting into it when the material ran out.
If the rest of their songs diversify in the subtle, distinct manner of the above, Beard Of Wolves have a lot to offer. There is no shortage of two-piece hellraisers on the block (see Winnebago Deal, Black Cobra, 5ive’s Continuum Research Project), but there’s still plenty of room for a party band like these boys. Fun, able-bodied and unpretentious, this is good stuff.