ALBUM REVIEW: >>>> – Beak>

Hailing from Bristol, BEAK> have been steadily forging a solid reputation as an excellent live band with some quite dystopian sounds, somehow managing to succeed where many others have failed. A week ago they dropped their latest masterpiece, appropriately (in their case) titled >>>>, without any advance warning, nor singles.

That slightly off kilter sound that they’ve had in previous albums, such as 2018’s >>> has been further enhanced, leading to some at times uneasy listening. Deliberately written so, it’s a sound that could be quite off-putting for some, so to move their music even further into that almost sinister-sounding territory takes a level of bravery. Such bravery, however, is one that they’ve shown before, as they’ve taken gradual steps further in this same direction with previous releases.

Whilst never hitting a particularly high tempo, there are definite moments within songs that feel more like a rollercoaster, with musical storytelling being a particularly strong point of their writing. Middle of the album track Denim oscillates into a wall of noise crescendo ending, showing some of this further shift, whilst Hungry We Are which immediately follows it takes a much more melodic, if still slightly hazy approach.

It’s actually pretty hard to think of much to change about this album. They’ve done an excellent job of progressing of their signature sound and clearly been left to their own devices when it comes to the creation and recording side. The production itself is immaculate, with different instruments weaving in and out of the layering almost at will. There also feels like a slightly more proggy sound at times, too, which fits well amongst the rest of their influences, almost feeling like a softer version of TOOL at times, which is a quite heady compliment indeed.

It all boils down to the fact that BEAK> have outdone themselves even more. >>>> is an excellent body of work, both as a whole and individually as tracks. Whilst it is not going to be a release that will push them into the mainstream consciousness, it doesn’t feel like that has ever been their actual intent. With an aim apparently towards the kind of space that TOOL, HAWKWIND, KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD and their ilk overlap into in a Venn diagram, they have nailed that and created a truly brilliant release that should garner them even further support in all of the right places.

Rating: 9/10

>>>> is out now via Invada Records.

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