The Beverleys

Any song that leads off with the timeless intro "Twofreefour" is always guaranteed to grab my attention. Such was the case when the Twittersphere suggested I go and take a listen to the wondrous punk, fuzzy guitar-fuelled sound of Toronto trio The Beverleys. 

Seeing as the band's debut EP and subsequent follow-up single "Hoodwink" were both released last year, consider this post as an addition to my 'artists I'm looking forward to hearing (and seeing - should they venture south to the sunnier climes of Southern California) more of' featurette.

The Beverleys are - according to their Bandcamp page - Step on drums and the guitar and vocal duet of Snooze and Jo, although I suspect that they are better known to their family and friends as sisters Steph and Susan Burke and Joanna Lund... 

The "Two three four" comes from the opening track of the band's eponymous EP, "Bad company", a riotous wall of fuzzy, shredded guitars,  drums hammered to within an inch of their life and snarling, throaty vocals that spit out words like bullets from a machine gun...  Meanwhile, there's plenty of angst on display on the EP's closer, "This is not a union" - over a barrage of distorted and reverbed guitar - barbed, angst-filled vocals are again let rip. Once again percussion barrels along at 160 km/h (or 100 mph in old money), the pace is relentless, a crescendo of noise crashes one on top of another...

This EP is fun with a capital 'F' - it's loud, bold, brash and ultimately confident. The Beverleys know what they're about and aren't prepared to take shit from anyone who stands in their way. I found an interview with the band (google is apparently my friend), that there was an expectation amongst some audience members at their gigs to hear something cute and sweet... Which leads me to think firstly, don't you people actually check out a band before you see them play? Secondly, have been introduced to the music and subsequently cut several musical teeth on bands such as The Raincoats, The Slits and Au Pairs, I could almost understand if this was the attitude from the days before Punk - but come on - that was nearly 40 years ago (beginning to show may age I fear...) and surely you don't need a mutual exclusive chromosome pair to be able to play angry, loud and fast? As Joanna herself explains, “It’s the noise I make, and I don’t think of it in terms of gender..."

However - imho, at least - the track that really grabs my attention is the meat in EP's sandwich, "Dreams", (apparently an inside joke as this was the band's original name(!)). The by now trademark angry, howling vocals are again present, but listening to the song is like going from a crackly mono Dansette to a surround-sound system. If the other two songs are both examples of the (gorgeous) rawness of garagey Punk, then "Dreams" is decidedly sophisticated post-punk in outlook; there's added depth and subtle nuances on the vocals, the reverbed guitars lays down a carpet of catchy hooks - if I'd have heard of The Beverley's last year there's no way that this track wouldn't have featured in my best of... 8tracks mix.

 The relevance of "Dreams" becomes obvious when the band resurfaced (on record that is) some nine months later with November's "Hoodwink." 

If "Dreams" was a first dip of the toes into a post-punk world, this is a head-first dive into late 80's / early 90's alternative-rock. There's fuzzy guitars and pulsating percussion a plenty, but out of organised chaos there's the most compelling of melodies. I don't know enough about the band to know whether Susan or Joanna sings lead, but  the combination of shredded guitars, solid stick-work and the distinctive growling vocals is enough to convince me that the band should go far - hopefully there's an album in the works.

The Beverleys are (yet another) exciting band that are well worth watching out for...

  

The Beverleys "EP" (Bandcamp)
The Beverleys "Hoodwink" (Bandcamp)