BEAK>

Above are my CD copies of the third and fourth albums (> > > and > > > >) by the Bristol band BEAK>. I first became aware of their music about eight years ago, having heard some of it on the radio. By 2018, I was curious enough to order > > > soon after its release. The follow-up > > > > didn’t appear until earlier this year. Thanks to a recent birthday, I now have a copy of that one too.

Theirs is a sound that is warmly wonky & murkily analogue, with indistinct vocals and insistent grooves. On Discogs, > > > > is inexactly categorized as “Krautrock, Post Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Experimental”. There is certainly more than a little of Can’s influence in some of my favourite tracks of theirs, such as ‘Allé Sauvage’ from > > > and ‘Ah Yeh’ from > > > >. I wonder, with the recent announcement of the departure of co-founder and drummer Geoff Barrow from the band, if a new line-up will produce a > > > > > at some point?