Clipd Beaks Hoarse Lords
“Death disco” is a sorely overused term, but Clipd Beaks embodies it from head to […]
“Death disco” is a sorely overused term, but Clipd Beaks embodies it from head to toe on Hoarse Lords. Throughout the disc, the Oakland noise-rock band’s rhythm section staggers across a mirrorball-glittered dancefloor as singer Nic Barbel wails his life away. It’s the sound of a basement party band trying to stand up after everybody else has passed out or gone home. Here and there, the Beaks add psychedelic touches that achieve a strange grace. They cut off the racket of “Wrathscapes” and ascend into outer space through peaceful, AOR-tempered guitar riffs, but Barbel’s strangled vocals tend to resemble a whine of broken amps, which can interfere with the band’s otherwise prime, art-damaged jams.