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Review: 'Beat Hotel'
'Beat Hotel'   

-  Label: 'Occultation Recordings/Bandcamp'
-  Genre: 'Indie' -  Release Date: '20.5.20.'

Our Rating:
This is the new ep from Brighton based indie super group Beat Hotel who take their name from a legendary Parisian flophouse hotel where all the key members of the beat generation holed up at various times. The Beat Hotel have been around since being formed in 1988 by Arash Torabi (The June Brides, The Distractions) and Paul Pascoe (The Inspirations, Mudlow) and the current line-up features the legendary Dave Morgan (The Jazz Butcher, The Loft, Weather Prophets, The Snakes and loads of others) On drums, I've lost count of the number of bands I've seen Dave Morgan play drums with live over the years, several times as special guest, he's always been a fixture on the London gig scene. The other guitarist is Stephen Brett from Mojo Fins.

The Ep opens with the main single Feel it that is apparently inspired by Hitchcock's Vertigo a film I've recently watched again for the first time in decades and it's still a bit odd in places and the trippy visuals in places are perfectly encapsulated by this great slice of spaced out indie rock that sounds like it's from the late 90's with a delicious guitar solo and dangerous Dave Morgan's rock solid drumming.

Bury It Deep sounds like it could be early Charlatans or as you might expect with this bands pedigree The Jasmine Minks this is psychedelic powerpop indie that thankfully is totally pre-baggy in its sound.

Low Slung Loser has a harder sound from its opening guitar salvo, and while in no way as blues infused as Mudlow it's the first song that has obvious connections to one of Paul Pascoe's other bands, especially in the effects on the rhythm guitar, this is a storming song that is almost psychedelic Biker rock.

Beat Girl is the bands gentler side, and I hope it's about Joyce Johnston or Caroline Cassidy although the lyrics make it fit Jan Kerouac, either way it has swirling strings and a cool gentle outlook that you would expect from a band that features former members of the Weather Prophets and June Brides so light up another stick of Tea and enjoy this glorious love song.

Daddy, I Drown slowly fades in on a song about drowning with your dad which seems like an awful thing to happen, lyrically this is sad and downbeat look at how you deal with ailing parents dying or being ill in hospital, the song builds nicely but never loses a sense of sadness and regret.

The EP Closes with Heat Light Fire that opens like it's in thrall to The Beat Happening's Indian Summer before it goes well more like Spiritualized's blissed out drug drenched anthems, it also has a very cool bass-line and feels like it was recorded in an echo chamber, a very cool song to finish with.
  author: simonovitch

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