ninehertz

Street Eaters are a two piece comprising bass and drums from northern California. Let me start by saying I'm a big fan of rhythm section bands thundering and battering their way into a low frequency groove hurricane, at least that's what the good ones do. Big Business, DFA1979, Lightning Bolt all tread a line between massive groove, whirling rhythms, barking vocals, sheer volume and raw punk without sounding too much alike or limited by their lack of melodious musicians spunking chords and wanky solos all over the place.

Back to Street Eaters and we have a band trying to tread that line and unfortunately coming out sounding like the B-52s singing over some Blink 182 B-sides. Falsetto vocal trade-offs between band members John No and Megan March meander through a vast landscape of dull punk.

What the album lacks most is collective energy, the kind of energy captured when both drums and bass click into an harmonious amalgamation of dirty riff and solid beat. It's like trying to cook soup in the toaster; the ingredients are there, it's just that the methods are all wrong. Nation Builder, Livid Lizard and the closing song Opportunistic serve as bits of carrot, still edible if you pick them out of the surrounding mulch and there's even a Jefferson Airplane cover in there serving as a soggy chunk of warm potato.

I can imagine seeing these guys at a house party and getting into the vibe whilst I reminisce about seeing Big Business without The Melvins a few years back. I can't however see myself buying their albums or going out of my way to see this band live until they find that mysterious energy which is currently just out of reach.