Recently my interest has been piqued by seeing a whole load of gig adverts from The Beer Snobs, but I just never got round to seeking out anything by the band to find out what they do. The next thing that happened was that Tom Priestley – performance poet and multi-instrumentalist, who just happens to be the drummer and harmonica player in The Beer Snobs – asked me to review an album he’d done. So I thought I’d better review their last release. Such is the life of a music reviewer; connections and coincidences coming at you from all angles.
I had basically not any sort of idea what the band might sound like but dear reader – and this is a spoiler – the band are very much my sort of thing.
What we are talking about here is a song with a rather wonderfully earwormy tune that’s kind of timeless. Hints of sixties pop, indie’s in there somewhere, a dash of the artfulness and archness of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, an edge of a punk thing – especially in the vocals; it’s a heady mix to be sure.
And musically this is a band who know their stuff. There is just that wonderful simplicity to this; it’s sparse, somewhat DIY, but with these wonderful little touches that are just glorious. And I’ll pause here to make a special mention of the bass; oh boy we are talking bass as a lead instrument, it’s a yummy thing.
And this is before you even consider the words. Now the words are a wonderful thing; rye, a touch of humour and wonderfully uncomplicated – if you get what I mean.
But, and crucially, it brings a smile, a grin to your face, and a joy to your heart. You just can’t help but be happy and don’t we all need music that does that? Cheer yourself up, get yourself a dose of The Beer Snobs.
And while you’re at it check out their other releases.
The info
The Beer Snobs are:
Tom Priestley on Drums and Harmonica
Michael Dailey on Guitar and Vocals
David Sowden on Bass and Backing Vocals
