Tag: Ratworld

TRACK REVIEW: Menace Beach “Super Transporterreum”

Menace Beach

This fall, British pysch-rock band Menace Beach are releasing their second project of 2015, an EP. Named Super Transporterreum, the band recently shared the EP’s title track.

What is a transporterreum, let alone a super one? I was hoping that it was some kind of spaceship, but a quick Google search revealed it’s not a real thing. The band’s singer Liz Violet came up with the name from a fever-induced hallucination she had after she caught the flu on tour. Similar to their last album Ratworld, “Super Transporterreum” is a fun three and a half minutes of fuzzy guitars, feedback, and vocal trade offs between Violet and Ryan Needham. Whatever it is, when they chant “Super Transporterreum” during the chorus, I want to sing along.

Super Transporterreum will be available via Memphis Industries on October 2nd. Check out the first song below!

 

ALBUM REVIEW: Menace Beach “Ratworld”

RATWORLD

Ratworld, Menace Beach’s latest release since their 2014 EP, Lowtalker, is now available to stream on Hype Machine. Listen to it here.

A favorite of music blogs, Menance Beach was formed in 2012 by frontman Ryan Needham and singer/guitarist Liza Violet of Leeds, England. The duo shares a name with the 90’s Nintendo game featuring a skateboarding protagonist, and shares their project with a diverse lineup of musicians. They’ve played with artists such as Nestor Matthews of Sky Larkin, Matt Spalding of You Animals, and Robert Lee of Pulled Apart by Horses. Ratworld was produced by Matthew Johnson of Hookworms.

Ratworld is “a journey through a psyche tinged wonderland” that ping-pongs back and forth between the band’s influences, from Pavement to Deerhunter, My Bloody Valentine, Ty Segall and more. Their sound is a blend of upbeat indie and psychedelic pop driven by fuzzy guitars and Needham’s drawn out vocals, which have a hint of his accent. The twelve tracks transition into and compliment each other well, from the shiny, shimmering “Elastic” to the softer, floaty “Blue Eye” and the laid back single “Tennis Court.”

Key tracks are “Drop Outs,” which starts out with a darker tone before plunging back into Menace Beach’s upbeat feel. “Lowtalkin’” is a high-energy song with a surf rock vibe, featuring a piercing, mosquito-like whine of a guitar solo.

Ratworld is set for release through Memphis Industries on 1/27 in the United States, and 1/19 everywhere else.