Published on Dec 1, 1999
Sweden is a land that I think of when I think about death or
grunge metal. I don’t know why; it just seems like a lot of music
in this genre has been coming forth from the Nordic countries. I
think of Abba — no, wait, I try not to think of Abba too much, but
eventually come back to them.
What I normally don’t think about when I think of Sweden is good
old-fashioned balls-out rock music. And that’s where The Deadbeats
come into the picture. Their self-titled debut release reminds me
of bands long gone while they establish their own unique voice in a
Britney-Backstreet-Sync world. And it’s as refreshing as a cold
breeze on a summer’s day.
Now, I’m at a major loss here on a couple of accounts. First, my
copy of
The Deadbeats is a promo release, which doesn’t tell me a
whole lot about the band. (Yes, believe it or not, I
do read the bios.) Problem number two: No bio. Problem
three: no Web site to access – though I could have accessed
numerous lists of deadbeat parents. Finally, the type style the
label used to list the songs is damned unreadable. This is not good
for your intrepid reviewer.
So, all we’re left with is the music to base this review on.
And, simply put, it rocks. The Deadbeats remind me a lot of The
Four Horsemen in style, though the vocals don’t sound at all like
the late Frank K. Starr. Even going further back in my mind, the
sound reminds me a bit of Hall Aflame — remember them, kids? —
with their blooze-rock mixture. If anything,
The Deadbeats is an album that sounds like it could have
been recorded in the ’70s with all of the studio wizardry that the
’90s has brought forth. Its power comes in its simplicity.
Listening to sngs like “Get Your Head Straight,” “Roll With The
Punches” and “The Hole In Your Soul,” it’s almost like listening to
The Ramones, Motorhead and Aerosmith rolled into one. The vocals
are clear and powerful, the guitar work sings, and the overall
groove of the music is enough to get your head slamming into the
desk. What’s more, the band seems to know when it’s about to
overstay its welcome, so the songs tend to be in the two- to
three-minute range. (The whole disc – all 13 songs – clocks in at
under 40 minutes.)
The biggest challenge that The Deadbeats are going to face isn’t
getting their music noticed – hell, if the right people play this
one, getting noticed will be the least of their problems. No, the
problem will be an identity crisis; in the short time I searched
the Web before deciding the hell with pages about tax forms and
scofflaw parents, I found a few bands with the same name –
including one who has established an identy on The Ultimate Band
List.
I wish I knew more about The Deadbeats to flesh out their story
and give more insight into the music on this disc. But
The Deadbeats is a CD that is still well worth searching out
and listening to for a few hours straight, especially if you’re a
fan of good old hard rock.