BETH BLADE AND THE BEAUTIFUL DISASTERS
‘Show Me Your Teeth’ is the follow up release to 2016’s debut, ‘Bad Habits’. As far as I can tell, the band’s line up has not changed and consists of Beth, the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist; Craig Manning on lead guitar; Nicko Goodwin on bass and drummer Sam Brain.
The twelve tracks on offer here show something of a progression from the band’s first album, although this is something of a double-edged sword. There is a more polished approach and, at least to these ears, a more commercial edge to the song writing, with some tracks, for example the opener ‘Secrets’ and ‘Into The Light’, sounding like updated versions of Joan Jett or The Runaways.
The slight downside to this progression, however, is that some of the rawness and energy from the debut hasn’t been lost exactly but perhaps distilled. That isn’t to say that there isn’t some very fine music to be found here. ‘You And I’ is a great track, built around a massive riff and an extremely catchy chorus. ‘Crazy’ is a slower tempo ballad, with good use of acoustic guitar, which builds to a powerful chorus, and allows Beth to show the complete spectrum of her vocal talents which are extensive to say the least and shows a growing maturity to the band’s songwriting.
‘1974’ gives a nod to the band’s influences with its lyrics about the golden age of glam rock and, somewhat bizarrely, has a feel of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ in the way that the rhythm section drives the song along. ‘Jack And Coke’ closes the album and, relative to what has gone before, is surprisingly heavy and an excellent way to bring the curtain down on this release.
I said in my review of ‘Bad Habits’, elsewhere on this site, that Beth’s voice is superb and it still remains the cornerstone on which the music the band produce is built. As long as the band have a vocalist as strong as Beth, who can handle both the more considered ballad style songs and the heaviest of tracks with equal aplomb, they have every chance of going on to still greater things.
The twelve tracks on offer here show something of a progression from the band’s first album, although this is something of a double-edged sword. There is a more polished approach and, at least to these ears, a more commercial edge to the song writing, with some tracks, for example the opener ‘Secrets’ and ‘Into The Light’, sounding like updated versions of Joan Jett or The Runaways.
The slight downside to this progression, however, is that some of the rawness and energy from the debut hasn’t been lost exactly but perhaps distilled. That isn’t to say that there isn’t some very fine music to be found here. ‘You And I’ is a great track, built around a massive riff and an extremely catchy chorus. ‘Crazy’ is a slower tempo ballad, with good use of acoustic guitar, which builds to a powerful chorus, and allows Beth to show the complete spectrum of her vocal talents which are extensive to say the least and shows a growing maturity to the band’s songwriting.
‘1974’ gives a nod to the band’s influences with its lyrics about the golden age of glam rock and, somewhat bizarrely, has a feel of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ in the way that the rhythm section drives the song along. ‘Jack And Coke’ closes the album and, relative to what has gone before, is surprisingly heavy and an excellent way to bring the curtain down on this release.
I said in my review of ‘Bad Habits’, elsewhere on this site, that Beth’s voice is superb and it still remains the cornerstone on which the music the band produce is built. As long as the band have a vocalist as strong as Beth, who can handle both the more considered ballad style songs and the heaviest of tracks with equal aplomb, they have every chance of going on to still greater things.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Self-released
Album
SHOW ME YOUR TEETH
Review by Dave Uphill
RUNNING TIME:
42:41
RELEASE DATE:
25th January 2019
TRACK LISTING
1) Secrets
2) Give It All You've Got
3) On and On
4) You and I; 5) Crazy
6) Show Me Your Teeth
7) I Ain't Got Nothing (If I Ain't Got Rock and Roll)
8) Lost in You
9) Into the Light
10) 1974
11) Who Do You Love Now?
12) Jack and Coke
2) Give It All You've Got
3) On and On
4) You and I; 5) Crazy
6) Show Me Your Teeth
7) I Ain't Got Nothing (If I Ain't Got Rock and Roll)
8) Lost in You
9) Into the Light
10) 1974
11) Who Do You Love Now?
12) Jack and Coke
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
UK
"...Beth’s voice is superb and it still remains the cornerstone on which the music the band produce is built."
