Killer Tofu? Naw...
The Beets - Let the Poison Out (2011) – 7.3 / 10.0
Hardly Art
The Beets have been around for a whole three records at this point, which is indie music light years, as far as things like that are concerned. The band’s name is as likely a reference to the titular character’s favorite (same-named) band on early nineties Nicktoon, Doug as it is to The Beatles, and hey, if you check out the ‘toon Beets on YouTube, you’ll see, that isn’t really too far off.
In an indie world dominated by bombastic, frequently self-important baloney (I’m looking at you, Arcade Fire) The Beets bring the fun, with their Brit-invasion era inspired garage pop, which is more interested in impressing Howard Stern (the band are big fans, apparently) than saving the rain forest, and I say thank baby Jesus for that. The vocals have a knack for shambling headlong into Liam Gallagher territory, deviated septum buzz and all, and for guitar-pop fans, I can assure you, listeners, this is a good thing, and something that passes from good to intermittently great, as the band build caustic but hummable pop hooks over bare bones guitar, bass, and drums, and off key vocal harmonies.
I’m not gonna try and sell you that The Beets are going to change the world, and I don’t think they would either. If you can’t have a good time and an occasional goof listening to a band, then God help you. There are plenty of other bands who will raise your awareness of… something, I guess, and then there are bands like the Beets, and hell, like the Ramones, who want to rock and roll. We’ll see if The Beets have the staying power of the punk godfathers, and it would be kinda ridiculous to expect that kind of longevity for anything, much less a rock band. Here’s to at least hoping that there are few more albums worth of songs to be sung in Spanish, and rams to be shackled, cuz these Beets are pretty sweet.
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