Fried Egg: Beat Session Vol 4 cassette

Description

The latest in the series of Beat Sessions produced and released by Mike Kriebel at The Golden Beat in LA. Having been able to actually experience one of these sessions as the bass player of Fried Egg, I have an even greater appreciation for how Mike’s setup lends itself to the true live sound of a punk/hardcore band. The setup is very simple, Peel Session style – load in, get some levels, and hit it. We did the whole thing in maybe five hours including setup and breakdown, recording straight to 2″ tape. Anyhow, if you enjoyed the previous sessions from Uranium Club, P22, and Urochromes, then have faith in Fried Egg! This batch of tracks represents a good chunk of our live set on that West coast tour – featuring a couple tracks off the previous EPs on Beach Impediment and Negative Jazz, plus three new ones that will eventually make it to our 12″ on Feel It later this year. Oh yeah, and I’d say we did a pretty decent job with covering “Land of the Brave” by Mecht Mensch. Perhaps my favorite Fried Egg recordings yet. Pro duplicated sound as well. Shout Recordings.

Our take: As much as I have loved every Frieg Egg recording so far, Ive always felt like there was something more lurking beneath the surface, waiting to break through, and on this new cassette that bubbling undercurrent finally reaches the surface. First, though, for the uninitiated, the Beat Sessions are sort of like a modern, DIY version of the Peel Session. From what I understand, bands stop by Shout Recordings when theyre on tour in California and do a quick recording. While I dont think its necessarily live in the studio, there isnt time for obsessive retakes and overdubs, so you end up with something that melds the organic, people playing together in a room quality of a live recording with the clarity and power of a polished studio recording. So far, all 4 volumes have been excellent. Now, back to Fried Egg. Theyve always been a furious USHC-style band (and they still are! Just check the killer Mecht Mensch cover here, as well as original tracks like the blistering Teeth), but they seem to be pulling from a wider set of influences now. Bite My Tongue is the real standoutand Im glad they made it the first trackwith its insanely catchy main riff, which takes a classic-sounding descending rock and roll riff and twists and distorts it into something entirely the bands own. Later in the track they hit on some lurching, later Black Flag-style rhythms (which they break out in other songs as well) that really showcase the tightness and power that the band has developed. Not many bands can transition from full-bore thrash into those kind of heavy, in-the-pocket rhythms in the space of a single song without it sounding forced, but Fried Egg knock it out of the park. I think I remember hearing that the next official release from Fried Egg will be an LP, and these five tracks hint that that record is really going to be something else. In the meantime, though, Ill be wearing out this tape.