”
As a sure-fire way of getting the last drunks out of your house, I’ve found that Heart Beeps was unbeaten this Christmas past. ”
”
As a sure-fire way of getting the last drunks out of your house, I’ve found that Heart Beeps was unbeaten this Christmas past. ”
The Mae Shi – Heart Beeps
Unsurprisingly, given the album’s title, we begin with some synthesized heart beeps. Then it’s into a (somehow) charming rant called Born for a Short Time. After that we have the sonic doodling that is also known as the Crimes of Infancy, which – when its end is in sight – it becomes a squealing, panting rock track. More heart beeps precede The Meat of the Inquiry which – for a track whose sonic duration is just over a minute – is incredibly repetitive. There is screaming at the end, so as to lighten the listener’s load. Spoils of Injury is, by complete contrast, a soft EMO-style song with toy Casio. All too soon it’s over. Eat the Prize returns the sound to its rancorous norm for a minute or so, before becoming an electro-dirge of sorts, only to return to a thumping, riff-laden noise. Spoils of Victory is two minutes of rather appealing low grade mumbling that is incredibly reminiscent of Julian Cope’s Hey High Class Butcher. You won’t be surprised to read that The Universal Polymath is as pretentious and indigestible as its title suggests. It eventually rocks out, only to be superseded by some more heart beeps (this time with vocals).
Then the album finishes. Yes it is kids, it’s over that soon. This LP clocks in at just over 15 minutes. As a sure-fire way of getting the last drunks out of your house, I’ve found that Heart Beeps was unbeaten this Christmas past. The fact that I have grown to like its angry little presence on my stereo doesn’t diminish its power in any sense. Not one for the fainthearted.
Words: Richard Foster