| The Gotobeds |
| Poor People Are Revolting |
The Gotobeds — Poor People Are Revolting
≈••≈ Raw, high–energy Pittsburgh indie/post–punk quartet in the vein of early Pavement, the Fall, and Wire.
Formed: 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Album release: September 02, 2014
Record Label: 12XU Records
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Fast Trash 2:52
02. New York's Alright (If You Like Sex & Phones) 3:46
03. Wasted On Youth/Melted Candle 4:16
04. To & Fromme 2:58
05. Wimpy Garcia (Brotherfucker) 3:56
06. Jenna Rations 3:30
07. Affection 2:31
08. Fucking Machine 4:58
09. Rollin' Benny 2:27
10. Secs Tape 10:36
Review
BY FRED MILLS, Score: ****
≈••≈ Naming your band after a member of Wire and releasing your album on a label named after a song by Wire is either cheeky or risky, or both, but in the final estimation, this Pittsburgh outfit delivers enough of the goods to strong–arm any prospective naysayers up to the front of the classroom and force ‘em to stand with their noses against the chalkboard. The rest of us can resume our lesson in PostPunk 101, courtesy four earnest but innovative young men.
≈••≈ Start to finish, the Gotobeds’ long playing debut (it follows a pair of 45s for the Mind Cure label) makes for a compelling rollercoaster of a sonic ride. Just the opening track alone will take your breath away: “Fast Trash” is a whooping brace of Superchunkian jittery guitars and convulsing percussion so over the top in its ecstatic intent that you have to check your watch when it’s done. Later, as Side One nears its end, you get a reprise of sorts in “Wimpy Garcia,” a confident sonic swagger of clanging guitars conjuring images of CBGB circa ’77. And with album closer “Secs Tape” (say it out loud) the quartet stretches out, Sonic Youth–style, for an extended, effects–strewn psych–skronk blowup guaranteed to send you, the unsuspecting concert patron, tumbling out into the street to greet the early a.m. landscape with ringing ears and moistened eyes.
≈••≈ Crazed but inspired, noisy yet purposeful, the Gotobeds mount and then sustain a level of energy that one rarely encounters these days. Embrace ‘em now, before they flame out. Incidentally, you’d be forgiven if you thought the title of the album was Anarchy In the U.S. as that’s the legend that appears in big bold lettering at the top of the front cover; the “poor people are revolting” text is rendered barely as subscript. Both are apropos, however, and within two distinct (historical, cultural) contexts, linked. The revolution will not be televised — except in Pittsburgh.
≈••≈ http://blurtonline.com/
Review
DOUG MOSUROCK, AUGUST 24, 201411:01 PM ET
≈••≈ The Gotobeds‘ members come from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a place notorious for keeping great local bands to itself. But the racket these guys kick up on their first album, Poor People Are Revolting, might be too strong for the city to contain.
≈••≈ Guitarists Eli Kasan and Tom Payne spent the last few years as part of the local hardcore band Kim Phuc. Joined by bassist Gavin Jensen and drummer Cary Belbeck, they bring that energy to The Gotobeds, a rowdy, ramshackle party house of a band, built on the intersecting bedrock of post–punk and indie rock. On Poor People Are Revolting, there’s something crazy going on in every room, the front porch and the backyard: a party that never dies down or seems to stop, even as the neighbors complain and the cops drive past.
≈••≈ Working from the spirit and fundamentals of a small handful of influences — the design sense and intellectual rowdiness of The Fall; the constant evolution and masterful poker faces of Wire, from whose drummer these guys borrowed their name; the sturdy, heroic melodic sense and layered tape–loop production of Mission of Burma — The Gotobeds’ members paint a dirty, driven, vulgar portrait of Rust Belt restlessness.
≈••≈ Poor People rockets out of the gate with “Fast Trash,” a great intro to The Gotobeds’ boundless energy. Two–parter “Wasted on Youth/Melted Candle” starts out with a tuneful riff that ratchets past pandemonium. Every song here is an honest–to–goodness anthem, ready to sweep you up in the throttling, last–call anxiety that permeates the band’s work — even through all 10 minutes of the single repetitive riff that makes up “Secs Tape.”
≈••≈ Were these guys from New York City, they’d probably be too tired and broke to play with this level of fevered, feral inspiration. With no fear of being priced out, they launch one of the greatest arguments against Big Apple living with their single “NY’s Alright.” Like the album’s title, the song is a double–edged sword, couching the relative excitement of New York (and hearing all about it from everyone who’s moved there) against the reality of people staring into their cellphones on crowded sidewalks, constantly trying to maintain a standard of living that The Gotobeds can enjoy for next to nothing. The sentiment is hammered home in the video for the track, as the band drops a Parquet Courts LP out of its sleeve, only to see it shatter on the floor.
≈••≈ One of the strongest American rock debuts in years, Poor People Are Revolting is an obscene gesture hoisted toward anyone who’d claim that the genre is dead. ≈••≈ http://www.npr.org/
Artist Biography by Timothy Monger
≈••≈ Pittsburgh indie rock quartet the Gotobeds began casually in 2009 when guitarist Eli Kasan and drummer Cary Belback began playing together at a local rehearsal space. At the time, Kasan was still attached to hardcore outfit Kim Phuc, but the two friends were keen on starting a new band from the ground up. After trying out a number of other players, they eventually convinced Kasan's friend Gavin Jensen to move from Chicago and join them on bass. Fellow Kim Phuc member Tom Payne eventually joined on to play guitar, completing the lineup. They spent a few years slowly working out their sound and approach, making sure they were keeping it fun and artistically honest. The result was a mix of high–energy post–punk and indie in the vein of the Fall, Mission of Burma, early Pavement, and Wire, whose drummer Robert Gotobed inspired the band's name. Their slightly ramshackle, raw approach on–stage resembled early Replacements, and they had soon racked up a regional following based on a handful of singles and a reputation as an exciting live band. Following a performance on New Jersey's WFMU, they were approached by Matador honcho Gerard Cosloy, who signed them to his 12XU imprint. In keeping with their live aesthetic, they recorded their debut album, 2014's Poor People Are Revolting, in a single day.
Bandcamp: ≈••≈ http://thegotobeds.bandcamp.com/album/poor-people-are-revolting
____________________________________________________________
| The Gotobeds |
| Poor People Are Revolting |
≈••≈ Raw, high–energy Pittsburgh indie/post–punk quartet in the vein of early Pavement, the Fall, and Wire.
Formed: 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Album release: September 02, 2014
Record Label: 12XU Records
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Fast Trash 2:52
02. New York's Alright (If You Like Sex & Phones) 3:46
03. Wasted On Youth/Melted Candle 4:16
04. To & Fromme 2:58
05. Wimpy Garcia (Brotherfucker) 3:56
06. Jenna Rations 3:30
07. Affection 2:31
08. Fucking Machine 4:58
09. Rollin' Benny 2:27
10. Secs Tape 10:36
Review
BY FRED MILLS, Score: ****
≈••≈ Naming your band after a member of Wire and releasing your album on a label named after a song by Wire is either cheeky or risky, or both, but in the final estimation, this Pittsburgh outfit delivers enough of the goods to strong–arm any prospective naysayers up to the front of the classroom and force ‘em to stand with their noses against the chalkboard. The rest of us can resume our lesson in PostPunk 101, courtesy four earnest but innovative young men.
≈••≈ Start to finish, the Gotobeds’ long playing debut (it follows a pair of 45s for the Mind Cure label) makes for a compelling rollercoaster of a sonic ride. Just the opening track alone will take your breath away: “Fast Trash” is a whooping brace of Superchunkian jittery guitars and convulsing percussion so over the top in its ecstatic intent that you have to check your watch when it’s done. Later, as Side One nears its end, you get a reprise of sorts in “Wimpy Garcia,” a confident sonic swagger of clanging guitars conjuring images of CBGB circa ’77. And with album closer “Secs Tape” (say it out loud) the quartet stretches out, Sonic Youth–style, for an extended, effects–strewn psych–skronk blowup guaranteed to send you, the unsuspecting concert patron, tumbling out into the street to greet the early a.m. landscape with ringing ears and moistened eyes.
≈••≈ Crazed but inspired, noisy yet purposeful, the Gotobeds mount and then sustain a level of energy that one rarely encounters these days. Embrace ‘em now, before they flame out. Incidentally, you’d be forgiven if you thought the title of the album was Anarchy In the U.S. as that’s the legend that appears in big bold lettering at the top of the front cover; the “poor people are revolting” text is rendered barely as subscript. Both are apropos, however, and within two distinct (historical, cultural) contexts, linked. The revolution will not be televised — except in Pittsburgh.
≈••≈ http://blurtonline.com/
Review
DOUG MOSUROCK, AUGUST 24, 201411:01 PM ET
≈••≈ The Gotobeds‘ members come from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a place notorious for keeping great local bands to itself. But the racket these guys kick up on their first album, Poor People Are Revolting, might be too strong for the city to contain.
≈••≈ Guitarists Eli Kasan and Tom Payne spent the last few years as part of the local hardcore band Kim Phuc. Joined by bassist Gavin Jensen and drummer Cary Belbeck, they bring that energy to The Gotobeds, a rowdy, ramshackle party house of a band, built on the intersecting bedrock of post–punk and indie rock. On Poor People Are Revolting, there’s something crazy going on in every room, the front porch and the backyard: a party that never dies down or seems to stop, even as the neighbors complain and the cops drive past.
≈••≈ Working from the spirit and fundamentals of a small handful of influences — the design sense and intellectual rowdiness of The Fall; the constant evolution and masterful poker faces of Wire, from whose drummer these guys borrowed their name; the sturdy, heroic melodic sense and layered tape–loop production of Mission of Burma — The Gotobeds’ members paint a dirty, driven, vulgar portrait of Rust Belt restlessness.
≈••≈ Poor People rockets out of the gate with “Fast Trash,” a great intro to The Gotobeds’ boundless energy. Two–parter “Wasted on Youth/Melted Candle” starts out with a tuneful riff that ratchets past pandemonium. Every song here is an honest–to–goodness anthem, ready to sweep you up in the throttling, last–call anxiety that permeates the band’s work — even through all 10 minutes of the single repetitive riff that makes up “Secs Tape.”
≈••≈ Were these guys from New York City, they’d probably be too tired and broke to play with this level of fevered, feral inspiration. With no fear of being priced out, they launch one of the greatest arguments against Big Apple living with their single “NY’s Alright.” Like the album’s title, the song is a double–edged sword, couching the relative excitement of New York (and hearing all about it from everyone who’s moved there) against the reality of people staring into their cellphones on crowded sidewalks, constantly trying to maintain a standard of living that The Gotobeds can enjoy for next to nothing. The sentiment is hammered home in the video for the track, as the band drops a Parquet Courts LP out of its sleeve, only to see it shatter on the floor.
≈••≈ One of the strongest American rock debuts in years, Poor People Are Revolting is an obscene gesture hoisted toward anyone who’d claim that the genre is dead. ≈••≈ http://www.npr.org/
Artist Biography by Timothy Monger
≈••≈ Pittsburgh indie rock quartet the Gotobeds began casually in 2009 when guitarist Eli Kasan and drummer Cary Belback began playing together at a local rehearsal space. At the time, Kasan was still attached to hardcore outfit Kim Phuc, but the two friends were keen on starting a new band from the ground up. After trying out a number of other players, they eventually convinced Kasan's friend Gavin Jensen to move from Chicago and join them on bass. Fellow Kim Phuc member Tom Payne eventually joined on to play guitar, completing the lineup. They spent a few years slowly working out their sound and approach, making sure they were keeping it fun and artistically honest. The result was a mix of high–energy post–punk and indie in the vein of the Fall, Mission of Burma, early Pavement, and Wire, whose drummer Robert Gotobed inspired the band's name. Their slightly ramshackle, raw approach on–stage resembled early Replacements, and they had soon racked up a regional following based on a handful of singles and a reputation as an exciting live band. Following a performance on New Jersey's WFMU, they were approached by Matador honcho Gerard Cosloy, who signed them to his 12XU imprint. In keeping with their live aesthetic, they recorded their debut album, 2014's Poor People Are Revolting, in a single day.
Bandcamp: ≈••≈ http://thegotobeds.bandcamp.com/album/poor-people-are-revolting
____________________________________________________________