BEASTS

Today’s tip is a chewy piece of rock gristle in the form of ‘Annie’, the début single from London alt-rock trio Beasts. They’ve hit the melodic noise nail firmly on the head – from the single-coil twangy intro riff, through the enormous humbucking chorus, to the aneurysmogenic finale, there’s no let-up in Annie’s spectacular three minutes.

Is this how emo kids write a love letter these days? Since it’s not an easy task to decipher the lyrics, what with several overdrive pedals all doing their thing, let’s imagine that within Joe Mallory-Skinner’s smoothly menacing vocals there lies a kernel of tender optimism directed at a fortunate young lady called ‘Annie’. Let’s just hope she’s got earplugs.

The world needs bands like Beasts – young of face and floppy of fringe, making a racket on festival stages up and down the country; British but managing to synthesise that fashionably American sound – what was is called again? Scrunge? Gange? Ah, yes – grunge. It lives, and its name is Beasts.

Words by Martin Sharman

Tip by Tom Cotton from Amazing Radio