Review: Banderas' Beast Sounds and Parlour Tricks

Hard Rock juggernaut Banderas releases its anticipated new album, Beast Sounds and Parlour Tricks, this Friday in conjunction with a show at Covington's Mad Hatter. Arms Exploding, Angels of Meth and the Upset Victory join the band for the shindig.

I have heard Banderas described as Metal, Punk, Post Punk and Hard Rock. Are they any of these? After inhaling the new full-length several times, I can safely answer, “Yes, and then some.” The band in fact has concocted its own unique hybrid, powerful and sleazy in its Rock-ness, howling and reckless in its Punk-ness and, well, there are some “guitarmonies,” so there’s your Metal.

Fact is, Banderas don’t play by any established “rulebook,” instead taking elements from various shades of Rock to create an action-packed squall dripping not only with strut and swagger, but also a distinct craftiness that’s puts them above the screamy fray. While at times it may just sound like bash-it-out-and-bleed mayhem, the tracks are incredibly, inventively well-constructed, the crisp production work bringing to the fore some elements perhaps lost in the band’s powerhouse live presentation. They truly use the studio to its fullest potential. Things like electronic burbles and Rockabilly-reverbed riffs punch out from the speakers, adding unexpected dynamics to the band’s brute force. The band’s creativity in the studio is downright graceful.

Beast Sounds is extremely multi-faceted, but, ultimately, the band has conjured a cohesiveness out of the diversity that they can call its own. Highlights abound. “Click. Crash. Boom.” mixes Pyschobilly shuffle with a Molotov cocktail of a chorus, while “Rocket” explodes with thrashing precision and a fuzzed out bass line that’s wielded like a fiery sword. Even within a song, Banderas throw numerous screwballs that keep you guessing. The fantastic “Disgraceland” starts off with a drum machine beat and pulsating electronics, a sassy strut that rises to pure slashing chaos before dropping back to the electro pulse at the drop of a dime.

Each member brings something singular to the table, but singer Jeremy Constantinople’s contributions are (obviously) the most noticeable. Constantinople proves himself to be one of the best Rock singers in the area — singing in a low, sometimes Bowie-esque baritone, a throaty growl or screeching as if his guts were being forcibly removed from his body (all done with stinging originality), his range is unparalleled.

Banderas are Guns N’ Roses meets Murder City Devils meets Jesus Lizard meets Mudhoney meets White Zombie meets The Stooges. But, to make it easier on all of us, just pick up the bloody masterwork, Beast Sounds and Parlour Tricks, and we’ll just start saying they sound like Banderas. Deal?

— Mike Breen