Bass Drum of Death - Just Business

Bass Drum of Death is a Garage Rock band from Oxford Missippi. Now, let me tell you, back in 2011 these new waves of Garage Rock and Garage Punk band's were scratching all the right itches.  And Bass Drum of Death with their 2011 album "GB City" was in my good graces.  This album was fuzzed out, half-baked and totally off the rails Garage Punk album.  It was filled with scuzzy production, muscular riffs, and more sweaty energy than most other albums this year.  Tracks like "I Could Never Be Your Man", "Heart Attack Kid" and "High School Roaches" were the sort of Garage Rock rippers that I lived off of, and tracks like "Religious Girls" and "Leaves" proved that even at their slowest moments these guys knew what they were doing.  Bass Drum of Death returned in 2013 with their self-titled album.  Overall, this album was even grimier and muddier sounding, even dark in parts.  Tracks like "Faces of the Wind" and "No Demons" were much more sluggish, bluesy numbers.  And while tracks like that, alongside big tracks like "Such A Bore", weren't reinventing the wheel of these genres, you had to give it to BDOD, they were playing it with heart.  When Bass Drum of Death returned in 2014 with "Rip This" however, they had completely ditched their grungy sound for a much more polished sound.  Which, yes, took a lot of getting used to, and trust me there are a lot of very cheesy moments on here.  But there are still a handful of truly decent tracks here.  The boys are back, and with a flashier, more cleaned up sound then ever, something I'm not sure how I feel about just yet.  Let's talk about this.

This album starts off with “Third Coast Dreaming”, and after all these years, how the hell does this band almost instantly reel be back in?  I mean, of all of the Garage Rock bands I feel like Bass Drum of Death continue to do almost nothing genre-defying.  But God Damn, do they ever play this with a sense of cool that I can’t resist.  Obviously, the very polished and shiny production is going to turn off a lot of people.  But that bass groove is funky, the drums are muscular, and to an extent, this reminds me of some classic Wavves.  And seriously?  Who the hell taught these guys how to write a hook, good on you whoever you are. Then we have “Too High”, which is ironically the sound that I always sort of wanted to hear out of bands like Royal Blood.  I mean, this is a shiny, polished Garage Rock number by the books.  But I love the very wild, party vibe of this that brings me back to a simpler time in the genre where bands like FIDLAR and Wavves were playing the sweatiest shows around.  And if you’re a Garage Rock purist, this is going to be a very agitating display.  But something about these guys makes me not able to completely throw this aside.  “Diamond In The Rough” however is the gruffest and most aggressive track yet, even though it’s one of the slower paced tracks.  But oh God, this is where I draw the line.  This one is just so cheesy, and not what I tune in for by a long-shot.  Not to mention, John Barrett just sounds like he has no idea what he wants to do.  The solos here seem out of place, and this is the first instance where I felt like the production has truly gotten to me..  The days of “GB City” have never seemed further away.  Now, I’ve never heard the band go for Acoustic strumming.  But on “Failing Up” it gives this album a really great raucous vibe to it.  Barret on vocals here sounds so much more youthful and wild, all that’s missing is some grimier production.  But still, this is a genuinely decent tune.  And yes, some of these lyrics will have you rolling your eyes, and this is still far from reinventing the wheel.  But my goodness is “Failing Up” ever a genuinely fun track.  And the backing vocals here boys are such a nice touch, I’m impressed.

Up next, however, is “Heavy”, which is the lovechild of Imagine Dragons and who the hell knows what else.  But this is by FAR, the absolute worst track here.  Barrett’s vocals here are far from cool, they’re whiny and honestly obnoxious.  This one also is the worst written track here.  Sure, the electric guitar that eventually comes in is actually really bluesy and cool.  But overall if you want a testament to just how much this band has fallen off, look no further than this.  Then we have “I Don’t Wanna Know”, and that last track was so bad that this straightforward, not grimy and bluesy track is just so much more interesting.  But man, like how badly do Bass Drum of Death want to be Royal Blood?  To be honest, it’s not a bad sound, I love how genuinely dangerous this track comes off.  There re some muscular riffs and this one actually DOES his pretty hard, hell I wouldn’t really mind hearing more tracks like this.  Plus, when the hell did Bass Drum of Death start working with grooves so well.  Now, “Odds Are Good” really does leave my head scratching.  As far as the production goes, this is the worst track here.  Like, I’m just plain grumpy listening to just how glamorous and sunny this one is. However, vocally this is actually one of the most memorable and catchy tracks here.  Yes, this is a mess of an album from a band that’s become a shadow of their former selves.  But there’s also part of me that really likes some of the ideas here, especially the throwback rock n roll feel to this one.  This album is all over the place.  On the other hand, at the very least “Just Business” has the amount of confidence I’ve been dying to hear.  I love the swagger of this track, and just how gigantic some of the production is.  Not to mention, there’s been other moments here where I felt like the group was going for an overtly sexual sound.  But my friends, it doesn’t come off better than right on this title track.  It’s groovy, strong, and just a fantastic track.  And I can’t stress enough. if you haven’t been into the much more polished sound of the rest of this album this track won’t change anything.  But for me, this is passable.
Bass Drum of Death, however, continue to leave my head scratching with “I Love You (I Think).  I hate the production so much here, and the instrumental is easily one of the more phoned in ones of the bunch.  But holy fuck, I actually really love just how unbearably over the top Barrett’s vocals are here.  This one is dripping in sexuality, and his performance at times is borderline goofy.  But for some reason, I can’t say no completely.  There are some genuinely good ideas here, hell you can say that for the whole album.  But between questionable production and other issues, it’s tough to sort things out.  However, while this album as a whole is just a feast of overproduced Rock, “I Thought I Told You” actually makes it sound good.  It’s a sleek tune, but the very glossy production gives this one a serious groove.  But outside of that, this track is a mess.  It sounds like a Classic Rock cover that wasn’t good to begin with.  And not only that but Bass Drum of Death just sound like they have no clue what they want to do with their sound anymore.  It’s just so desperate and shows the band not nearly having as much fun.  This album ends off with “Leaving”, and shockingly this is easily one of the best sounding tracks here.  Like, this is the wildest and grungiest tracks of the bunch and sounds like it belongs on one of their album’s from years ago.  It’s catchy, genuinely cool, and agitating when you realize that they can still put together great tracks like this.

Rating: 6.9/10

Give A Listen To: “Third Coast Dreaming”, “Failing Up”, “Leaving”, “Just Business”

Least Favorite Track: “Heavy”

Genre: Garage Rock

Overall Thoughts:  Bass Drum of Death hasn’t aged well, and have become by this point, more or less a mess.  This album is also a freakin’ mess.  I don’t have a problem with Garage Rock acts working with clean production, artists like Black Lips and Ty Segall have proved that it can be done very classy.  But there seems to be little to no effort actually put into this album.  Sure, there are catchy moments and big muscular riffs.  But Bass Drum of Death sounds like they’re copying everyone from Royal Blood to commercial Alternative acts.  There are some really great tracks here that show that Bass Drum of Death does still have it.  But man, you gotta wade through a lot of garbage to get to the real gems here.