Boogie Beasts – Deep
Naked/Donor Productions/Inakustik
CD: 10 Songs, 37:19 Minutes
Styles: “Punk Blues,” Contemporary Electric Blues Rock, Acid Rock, All Original Songs
Every music fan has a personal definition of what their favorite genre is and what it means. So do Belgium’s Boogie Beasts. “Add dirty beats, hypnotizing slide, screaming harmonica riffs and plenty of fuzz. All of these will be served by this four-man band from Liège and Limburg, Belgium. Boogie Beasts translate their penchant for electric Delta blues into a most idiosyncratic sound, which has a touch of the Black Keys jamming with John Lee Hooker at a rave in the wee hours of the morning, or a psychedelic trip with Little Walter, or even RL Burnside backed up by the young Rolling Stones at a juke-joint gig.” Confused? Baby boomers might be. As I said in my last review of a Boogie Beasts album, their style is “punk blues” with a lot more punk than blues. Their sound can’t be categorized or described easily, except that it’s like a fingerprint. Deep, their brand-spanking-new 2019 release, features ten original songs that defy explanation.
On vocals, leading man Jan Jaspers is crisp and clear, although it’s rather hard to understand his lyrics over the blistering instrumentation. The Beasts pull out all the stops and go full blast on every track, with Mathias Dalle on guitar and vocals, Fabian Bennardo on infernally-hot harp, and Gert Servaes on drums and percussion. Jan Servaes guest stars on marching drum for track four. Overall, it’s difficult to pinpoint any single line, but songs like these weren’t made for analysis. This is low-down, throw-down, rock-on rave blues. If you don’t have a drink in your hand and your feet on the floor, you’re missing out.
The most traditional-sounding melody on this CD is its groove-heavy, five-minute closer.
Track 10: “In Front of You” – The guitar refrain is familiar but repetitive, as is the title. Nevertheless, it is catchy, and it does sound like a postmodern take on one of the old masters’ works. Fabian Bennardo’s harp and Mathias Dalle’s shredder are surefire highlights.
Bottom line? Listeners will have to dig Deep to find any true blues here.