Menace Beach 'Super Transporterreum' (EP REVIEW)
Following on from the
success of their debut album Ratworld and the subsequent
critical acclaim still ringing in their ears, Menace Beach release
their latest EP Super Transporterreum. Ratworld was thoroughly
impressive and just a few months down the line this 5 track offering
carries on in the same rich vein of form.
Before their debut LP
much was made of their line up being a conglomerate of some of Leeds'
finest bands but in the wake of such a successful album they must
surely now be judged purely on their own merit. They bare almost no
similarities to the bands whose members moonlight with them and are
truly a unique entity.
Super
Transporterreum feels like an extension of Ratworld. To me
this implies that their creativity is like a factory conveyor belt
and when the album was full they still had five pieces of material
left over that were worthy of making the final cut, but the quota had
already been filled. The EP opens with the
title track which whilst having no elements you would class as
conventionally catchy is one of the catchiest numbers they have
produced to date. From first listen the ever changing tempo of the
chorus becomes instantly locked into your consciousness. The next
track "Hey Toupe" has everything we have come to expect
from Menace Beach, it is short and punchy with their now trademark
fuzzy guitar riffs, rumbling bass and frantic pounding drums.
There is a 90's grunge
revival undercurrent running through most of their material and this
is at its most prevalent in "Ghoul Power". The bass line in
particular would not be out of place in the likes of Nirvana's "In
Bloom". Fourth track "The Line" has slight nods
towards the bands friendship, professional relationship, and
undoubted respect for Mansun's Paul Draper. Despite Draper being an
influence on their younger years, and a confidant currently, the
similarities are fleeting and this track cannot be mistaken for
anything else but what will inevitably come to be known as classic
Menace Beach.
Words - Gary Sykes
'Super Transporterreum' is released on 25th September via Memphis Industries