Benard
Has A Posse (2005)
Brian Shultz
Benard's Has A Posse two-song EP is punk-charged indie rock that while roughly produced and occasionally sloppy, is a brief look into some smart ideas being executed quickly and without aggrandizing the sound. With a lead singer resembling a throatier Cedric Bixler, I'm tempted to throw them into the newest wave of At The Drive-In clones, but there seems to be a little more going on. Things are a bit more raw and unbridled, perhaps similar to the early 90's work of Franklin before their reggae influences started to surface.
As noted immediately in opener "This Shit Is The Shit" (after an increasingly pensive moment of riffing and loudening feedback in the other speaker), the vocals are consistently under a layer of distortion, but it works well, upping the desperate factor to the music by a few increments. If you're getting a sense of a stripped down, no holds barred attack from this song and "I Wish You Were A Penguin," it's probably because the EP was recorded on an 8-track reel-to-reel, tracked live (minus the vocals) and on the first take.
Oh, and for what it's worth, the band contains ex-members of Stranger By Day and Left To Rust. This'll probably help you more than it's helping me.
As these are the first two songs the band has ever put to tape, it's an impressive debut showing a ton of potential in the Smyrna, GA outfit. While there isn't a ton of replayability here despite the length, Benard definitely has a real shot at making a lasting entry into the genre.