Order here: ETT - 064 - BETA BOYS - Late Night Acts LP
Olympia, WA 's own Beta Boys are back with more songs in the form of a LP. Since their demo tape (that came out in 2014) and several EPs they have had a lot of time to develop the sound that truly makes them betas. Leaving their aggressive hardcore style in the past, they play more of "Hell Comes To Your House" style songs, more rock`n`roll with a graveyard guitar boogie and a punk Screamin' Jay Hawkins on vocals.
For those of you keeping count this is our second release from Washington's state capital. Time to set up a field office because I don't see this town slowing down anytime soon. Look out Atlanta there's a new contender for the crown. This time around we’ve got Olympia scuzz punks Beta Boys. Following stellar releases on Lumpy, Neck Chop, Total Punk and Goodbye Boozy, they are back with their best outing yet.
Beta Boys have a sound that is a call back to when punk was fresh without sounding like a boring rehash band. All of their songs have a rhythmic echo that stays in your head for days after hearing it. The inconsistent sloppy delivery over a classic mid-tempo 80s punk sound make for an excellent combination. This band fills all the void in your records right now.
It's funny, when you first listen to them, Beta Boys sound like a fairly typical hardcore band, but the more you pay attention the more you realize that they really have managed to stake out their own particular aesthetic. Their songs are fast but not too fast, and the guitars have a chorus effect on them but they never sound too over-the-top goth-y... the descriptions for one of their records mentioned Hell Comes to Your House-style punk, and while I've never heard that mentioned as a genre before, it kind of makes sense...
Beta Boys do fit somewhere on the same part of the punk spectrum occupied by 45 Grave's punkier moments (like the track "Already Dead"), Christian Death, Legal Weapon, and Modern Warfare. In an age when every band seems to break up after just a demo and some 7"s, it's refreshing to hear a band grow a little bit more and really develop their own voice. Here's hoping they continue to push forward, and until then I'll be spinning this LP quite a bit.
A strikingly focused and sonically refined tour de force, these ten new tracks pair the band's Midwestern hardcore roots with a darker, midtempo burn. A pure punk sound if there ever was; precisely capturing the boredom, depression, and ever-present sense of hopelessness spread across modern America. Beta Boys have truly upped the ante on this full length; an album absolutely brimming with stellar production, first-rate songwriting, and unapollegetically punk flavor. Packaged in a full color jacket with artwork from Beta Boys' own Hank Durango.
