Album Profile: Band Of Beards

Band of Beards seem to be a band that isn’t sure exactly who they want to be. Their debut album Fuerteventura, while for the most part solid, jumps around drastically, never staying in one style for more than a song. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they miss. And while the effort is appreciated and works quite well at times, there are others where it falls hard.

The EP starts off very strong with “The First One”, an anthematic and catchy song which invokes the spirits of Teenage Bottlerocket. It’s a very sturdy introduction, but not necessarily a sign of things to come. With the charming promise of “First One” in your ears, “Multiple Choice Questions” is inevitably a bit of a letdown, not packing the same punch as the opener. The vocals are a bit shaky but the song is still overall enjoyable. Things go terribly awry with “Richard Loves New Jersey”. The riff is cheesy, the lyrics are elementary and dull, and the faux crooning vocals on the verses are borderline unlistenable.

As down as you may get at this point in the album, you will be completely revitalized by the next track, “One Point Twenty-one Gigawatts!”, quite possibly the best track on Fuerteventura. The shaky vocals that you question earlier work perfectly here and the lyrics come much more correct and complete, beginning with the lines “I have dreams/like a desert has trees/ten thousand miles/ten thousand nights/it’s guaranteed”. It’s an impressive 3 1/2 minute display of the joy of punk rock. Following is “Buddy Was an Elf”, a song that takes a semi-ska approach. Band of Beards work it very well, and you’re left wondering if this may even be the band’s real niche.

After two more merely average and somewhat forgettable songs, “Want vs Need” and “Days Into Months”, Fuerteventura comes to a close with “Tonight’s Winning Numbers”, a return to the feeling of “First One”. It’s a fantastic song to end with, as you are left with hope and promise for the future of this band. Fuerteventura leaves the band with a lot of room for improvement, specifically in regards to lyrics and vocals, but this band definitely has the talent to do so. The good songs are great, and the hope is they are expounded upon with future releases; if so, Band of Beards could be special.

- Joseph Regal

www.bandofbeards.com

Fuerteventura is the debut release from Band of Beards, a three-piece rock band from New Jersey. Many bands will talk about making music "for the fans," but this band is not one of them (mostly because they don't have any). Band of Beards plays music for themselves, because they don't know how to do anything else. Sometimes they'll do it for each other, but that's only if there's promises of pizza. Even then, they're only doing it for the pizza. Band of Beards - Doing it for themselves (and sometimes for the pizza).