Beth Israel – “Dental Denial” – [Dull Tools]

Thurston Hunger   6/6/2014   12-inch, A Library

Happy apathy seems to be the secret sauce on this
rock with pop leanings from Austin’s Beth Israel.
Determined lo-fi producton cannot stop the catchy
Clean-esque boppiness of “Statue In The Car” or hide
the twin-guitar 70’s solos of “Dead Bodies” or the
psych swirls in the zombie march of “White Powder.”
The guys might be moping on the outside, but they’re
laughing on the inside…to Chris Farley reruns.
The song “Tommy Boy” has a recitation of words
from that film done in a sort of Crispin Glover
as bard manner over a wandering bass and drum
line with guitar chord washes. I was bummed to find
out about the copping of the “lyrics” as I thought
this line was one of the greatest ever
“But that’s when people like us have to forge
ahead, am I right Helen?”
They like their reverb a plenty too, plenty of it
on “Family” after a brief corporate shout-out (?)
at the start. Through the murk, past the catchy,
there’s the tang of something going wrong in this
band. A hint of formaldehyde in the Jamba Juice
perhaps? Somethings bubbling in the instro “Heat 2”
not sure what it is, a Robert Fripp fingernail?
Anyways, if you also want seconds, check out
http://dulltools.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-cassette
-Thurston Hunger