Beatsteaks - Boom Box
The sixth album release from German rockers Beatsteaks knocked Adele off the top spot in the German album charts. Having been so big in their native land, they are becoming bigger over here in the UK and this album should see them gain further plaudits with their very unique brand of no nonsense punk. Having been around for about fifteen years, the band's latest release is a very interesting mix; lots of punk, post punk and even some reggae-rock.
The album gets off to a very interesting start with 'Fix It', which features a heavy, slide guitar sound and vocals very reminiscent of those German experimentalists of the 1970s, Faust. The track is loud, disjointed and in your face. The clearer 'Milk And Honey' follows which has a more commercial feel ; a sort of 'heavy-indie' sound with arpegiated guitar solo and completed by some 'Morrissey meets The Police' vocals. This is all very interesting and it all becomes a little confusing with the drum and bass driven next track, 'Cheap Comments'. The heavy guitar chord riff and vocals lend itself to a heay Talking Heads.
The variations and experimentations continue – Reggae- rock meets indie pop on 'Let's See', manic guitar and crashing drums on the post-punk 'Bullets From Another Dimension' and the piano (yes, piano!) and heavy-backed 'Under A Clear Blue Sky'.
There are some good moments in amongst the mayhem. The indie rock 'Access Adrenalin' with it's distorted guitar intro and interesting guitar/vocal interactions and the fast, thrashing punk of 'Behaviour' are both well executed and show that they have put much thought into their writing and arrangements. The second reggae-influenced song on the album, 'Automatic', has a very nice and unusual disjointed feel and the vocals are quite memorable. The crashing and thunderous drums and guitar return with 'Alright' before the very classic-rock sounding closing track 'House On Fire'; this track completely unexpected and throwing me. This could be straight from the 1970s.
The album is full of surprises and experiments; there's a little bit for everyone. This approach should help Beatsteaks gain a much wider listening public and fan base, however it becomes confused with too many experimental excursions; just when you think you have it, off they go again on another unrelated tangent. It's all very interesting but I feel it's just a little bit too fragmented; too many styles and changes make it a slightly uneasy listen.