The first
time I saw the SilverBeats… the
band took the cramped stage at the
window near the front door.
Fronted by James Tessier, who
appeared to be the missing link
from The Standells, the band’s
sound was simple, fuzzy and
perfect. These cats were no
strangers to reverb. Tess’
original compositions came to life
with electrical transmissions from
Dan Mullen’s lead guitar. The
primal garage rock sound of ‘Over
and Over’ was balanced by Tess’
soft-spoken vocals. ‘You Did Here
Wrong’ could have been plucked
from any top shelf album of lost
nuggets. ‘In the Sound Room’
points to endless possibilities of
mind expansion. This is the good
stuff. LSD before it was cut with
strychnine.” — Blaine Schultz
First reissue of rare cassette-only
underground neo-psychedelic punk
steeped in Pebbles-era rock, from
this Milwaukee band which featured Dan
Mullen (Plasticland) on guitar
and the talents — songwriting and
otherwise — of iconic underground
maven Tess (James Tessier).
‘I Want Speed’ shows The
SilverBeats’ affinity to West Coast
psychedelia. And it’s no coincidence
that they cover the Human
Expression’s ‘Calm Me Down,’ rich
with harmony vocal, and The Pretty
Things’ ‘Midnight to Six (Man),’
replacing the original’s rough R ’n’
B-edge with a slight psychedelic
tinge — a real showpiece for drummer
Mike Hughes. Another killer is ‘Over
And Over,’ penned by Tess (like all
the other originals on this album).
It layers beautiful, trippy guitar,
a catchy vocal melody, lots of echo,
strange effects, and weird sounds
before it closes, and we move on to
the jolly, jumping ‘Love Comes
Knockin.’
Comes with an 8-page booklet
featuring a description by
journalist David Luhrssen of the
Milwaukee underground music scene
which produced Plasticland,
Daszu, the band ÖR,
and The Violent Femmes,
among others.
•Lion exclusive: 150x hand-numbered
copies on Transparent Coke Clear
vinyl
•Comes with an 8-page booklet
featuring an overview of the
Milwaukee underground music scene by
David Luhrssen
Track List:
Side A
01. In The Sound Room 3:16
02. I Want Speed 3:09
03. Over and Over 3:20
04. Love Comes Knockin’ 1:57
05. You Did Her Wrong
2:37
06. Pepperoni Man 3:33
Side B
01. Tomorrow 2:31
02. Midnight To Six Man 2:25
03. My Hometown 3:23
04. Calm me Down 3:09
05. Who Needs You (Live) 1:55
06. You’ll Never Say Never (Live)
2:13
Transparent
coke clear vinyl is a Lion
exclusive edition of 150x
hand-numbered copies available exclusively from
Lion — pre-order
only
Catalogue number: RTAI 006 / LION
LP-191
UPC: 778578319113
Format: Lion exclusive edition
— transparent coke clear
vinyl (150x hand-numbered copies)
also available — pre-order
only Black
vinyl version is a Return to
Analog International exclusive
Format:
RTAI exclusive edition — black vinyl
(500x copies)
The first
time I saw the SilverBeats… the
band took the cramped stage at the
window near the front door.
Fronted by James Tessier, who
appeared to be the missing link
from The Standells, the band’s
sound was simple, fuzzy and
perfect. These cats were no
strangers to reverb. Tess’
original compositions came to life
with electrical transmissions from
Dan Mullen’s lead guitar. The
primal garage rock sound of ‘Over
and Over’ was balanced by Tess’
soft-spoken vocals. ‘You Did Here
Wrong’ could have been plucked
from any top shelf album of lost
nuggets. ‘In the Sound Room’
points to endless possibilities of
mind expansion. This is the good
stuff. LSD before it was cut with
strychnine.” — Blaine Schultz