I can always count on
Alex Kish to know what I like! On his recommendation, The Battlebeats sent me their debut EP. I pushed play and was immediately blown away! I suppose "their" is a misleading pronoun since The Battlebeats are actually just one guy. His name is Andresa, and he hails from Bandung, Indonesia. Andresa recorded this debut using only a Jaguar guitar through a 15-watt amp, floor-snare, and tambourine. On a regular basis since I started this blog, I have complained about all the modern-day garage punk bands that are neither garage nor punk. Well, my friends, The Battlebeats are garage punk the way it ought to be! Teengenerate is a huge reference point here, and how can you go wrong with that? Fifi gave Andresa the band name, and Fink gave him permission to cover the classic track "Dressed In Black" (the greatest garage punk song ever made!). In keeping with the spirit of raw and wild lo-fi trash, four of the five original songs here were written within five days of the recording session! From the moment I heard Andresa scream "Are you ready to rock and roll, motherfucker?!" at the beginning of "You Stabbed Me In The Back", I knew this EP was going to be great. Andresa tears through these songs with an energy and attitude that are off the charts. The '90s budget punk influence is undeniable, but I'm also picking up old school '60s garage rock vibes on tracks like "I'm A Piece Of Shit". Don't let the "one man band" thing scare you off. It would ordinarily take at least three people to kick up a racket this raucous! If you long for the days when the likes of Teengenerate and The Reatards reigned supreme, The Battlebeats will be music to your ears. Don't let me catch you playing this at a low volume!
-L.R.
https://thebattlebeats.bandcamp.com/album/the-battlebeats
https://www.facebook.com/thebattlebeats
https://www.instagram.com/thebattlebeats/
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