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Boisterous Berlin lads finally hijack UK stereos with a bang… or at least that’s what you’d think from the get go, with rowdy, hard rock opener As I Please.
But Limbo Messia swiftly, in its brief half-hour entirety proves that first impressions aren’t everything, as the majority of this ultimately lacklustre record latches onto an indie-punk rock vibe that doesn’t quite suit the German five-piece as much as they might like.
Limbo Messiah, released in Beatsteak’s native Germany in 2007 have finally been given a UK release, and haven’t quite lost all their relevance in the three year gap.
Beatsteaks are, quite simply, a band that sound better when they don’t flirt too much with the melodic, because they (on more than one occasion) pack a couple of hefty punches throughout their fifth release.
Tracks such as She Was Great sound like superglued remnants of some Arctic Monkeys b-sides, whereas Sharp Cool and Collected sees Beasteaks convincingly melding their collective strenghts into a two minute slice of Bad Brains flavoured punk-rock.
Aptly titled Bad Brain is less convincing. An example of the sound of a band not quite on their feet — holding back their potential capabilities.
Don’t get me wrong, Arnim Teutoburg-Weiß has the perfect alcohol soaked crooning for a band of Beatsteaks calibre, and the production is perfectly loose and lush; but the confusing weighting of success and failure in Limbo Messiah leaves a band wanting to ‘set off a couple of bombs’ setting off a few too many duds, too.
You can check out their music video for quirky single, Jane Became Insane above. An example of ’em at their best. Released next week.