With last year's cassette release, the
Dream Out EP, still fizzing in our ears we didn't expect to hear from
Menace Beach again so soon. But as luck would have it this double whammy of an AA side has been unveiled and is due to be released on
Too Pure later this month.
Both 'Drop Outs' and 'Tastes Like Medicine' capture both the sound and the feel of early 90's alternative music, before the behemoth of britpop took hold. These are tracks in thrall to America and allowing you to almost touch the scorched asphalt of a stretching summer. The former pulses into being before the distorted guitars weave their magic.
'Drop Outs' is elevated to become something rather special by the backing vocals on the chorus that seem at odds with the often discordant sounds coming from the musicians. Second track
'Tastes Like Medicine' begins even more dream-like before kicking into a snarl of an alt rock chorus, and ensures that it's impossible to pick a favourite from the two at this stage.
With this single Menace Beach have ensured that they're much more than a side-project (from bands including You Animals, Pulled Apart By Horses and Sky Larkin), so wrap your ears around it, and listen properly as this is mastered much quieter than all the fakers out there.
Menace Beach will support the single with the following dates
March 25th - Old Blue Last, London (Free entry)
March 27th - Kraak Gallery, Manchester
March 29th - Wharf Chambers, Leeds
Keep Pop Loud