An indefinite hiatus and latent breakup currently confront Minneapolis trio Gay Beast. Keyboardist, saxophonist, and vocalist Daniel Luedtke left to pursue his art career (testament to this can be found on the album cover) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; guitarist Isaac Rotto and drummer Angela Gerend are now functioning as a duo under the name of Hasps while awaiting Luedtke's possible return. If Gay Beast do eventually dissipate, their third full-length, the could-be pertinently titled To Smithereens, will have been a more than satisfying cessation.
In the same vein as 2009's Second Wave, the band exercises a complex, angular brand of no-wave revivalism that fans of the now-defunct Silver Daggers, Night Wounds, and Ex-Models would yearn for in this day. Gay Beast run counter to these acts due to their hint of palpability imparted by Luedtke, who sweetens intricate drumming and dissonant guitarwork with his infectiously contorting holler and quirky keyboard. In the case of To Smithereens, tunefulness has become a greater proclivity while maintaining just as much freak-flag flying as preceding albums.
"Poverty Witch" scurries about a spiraling guitar line and intervals of stomping electronic hysteria to brace for its elastic and creatively articulated chorus, "Overpriced, she's overpriced / Location is nice but she'll tear out both your eyes." Being the remarkably syncopated trio they are, Gay Beast venture into concise instrumentals, like the explosive gallop of "#" and saxophone-driven "Poly ASX". Notwithstanding their variety, the band's fervent poise overhangs every track.
The second side of To Smithereens is rife with more of the band's pop genius, incited by "Smithereens"' droning lullaby where its uneasy lyricism brings the album title full-circle, "When I'm in his grasp, feels like a metal trap / He could crush me to smithereens." On the following "We Keep Our Victims Ready" palm-muted apprehension skulks along spare keyboard phrasing, later erupting into a strident, alarm-like guitar march. To Smithereens' centerpiece is found situated at the close-- and for good reason-- Gerend applies an irresistible drum roll to the 6-minute "Goodbye World", and a polarity of sawtooth jabs and rich saxophone harmonies comprises its final moments, affirming that this potentially final chapter represents Gay Beast's most compelling work.
[Gay Beast Bandcamp]
[Buy To Smithereens from Skin Graft Records]
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