In 2008 John Barrett formed Bass Drum of Death as a musical outlet for his lo-fi, grunge sound. The singer and multi-instrumentalist performs and records all of his own material, and up until 2008 would tour as a one-man-band playing bass drum and guitar. In 2008 Barrett released the band’s debut EP entitled “Stain Stick Skin” on Fat Possum Records, featuring the single of the same name and “The Ballad of Bandit X”.
Following the release Bass Drum of Death toured around areas of the U.S. this time with a touring band consisting of two guitars and drums. In 2010 arrived the follow-up EP “High School Roaches”, succeeded by the band’s full-length debut “GB City” in 2011. The LP was once again released by Fat Possum Records with vinyl editions distributed through Inflated Records. The album became a popular feature of the lo-fi, garage rock genre and spawned the singles “Young Pros”, “Get Found” and “High School Roaches”.
The band has subsequently released the albums the self-titled “Bass Drum of Death” in 2013 and “Rip This” in 2014. On top of this due to the accessible upbeat tempo of Barrett’s songs, Bass Drum of Death has contributed to the soundtracks of “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”, “The Vampire Diaries”, “Grand Theft Auto” and the BBC TV show “Waterloo Road”.
Wavves is a band that dominated the majority of my high school years. The ones that mattered, anyway. I finally got to see them at Lollapalooza in 2013 and it was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Five years is a relatively short time for a band to have such enormous success, however Nathan Williams somehow made it work. Lo-fi production at first due to limited resources, then kept to retain the feel of Williams' angst-ridden, self-deprecating lyrics helped lead a revival of surf rock. Relatable to youth on both coasts (I myself hailing from New York,) Wavves quickly found a niche market.
"King of the Beach" is considered to be their first cohesive album and unlike most lo-fi artists that suddenly change sound when they get produced, Wavves only got better and knocked out one of the most relevant youth albums of the decade.
Wavves' set at Lollapalooza was anticipated by a huge crowd of youth dressed in their festival best and ready to lose their minds in the music. When the bass was tuned to the opening riff of "Linus Spacehead" before the set even started the crowd went wild, proving that Wavves' fans are attentive and ready for anything. The set was opened with the newly infamous "King of the Beach" and also contained hits such as "Bug" and "Green Eyes" along with tracks from the new album such as "Demon to Lean On" and the title track "Afraid of Heights."
The crowd was filled with an eclectic group of various objects being thrown around, moshing, and crowdsurfers eagerly egged on by the band and led to an unforgettable experience.
vvarhol
Even as you are watching Bass Drum Of Death it can be hard to believe that such a thick sound can come from so few people. 2 Guitarists and a drummer make all the racket you could ever need as the band career through their set of scuzzy, garage bangers.
The energy never drops. Fast paced riffs come one after the other, daring the audience to keep up which they almost always do, frantically losing their minds to the thrashing guitars. The most amazing thing about Bass Drum of Death though is how current they manage to sound whilst playing a style of rock arguably more reminiscent of the 70s than the 21st century. But as they continue to end up on bigger stages with even larger groups of people losing their minds you realise that Bass Drum of Death aren’t about nostalgia, they are just about putting on a gut-punching live show in the simplest way possible.
If you Go see Bass Drum of Death, expect to be rocked the hell out, no strings attached.
CATFROMJAPAN
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