If you haven’t yet heard of Guessmen prepared to be blown away. Hailing from the musical bad-lands of Newcastle, the trio merge so many influences into their songs that it is hard to keep to track of what is going on.
Their latest release, ‘Back From The Bins’ kicks off with a rowdy, full throttle foot stomper of a tune. ‘Animal Man Robot’ breathes fire and energy and with its gruff, Tom Waits-esque vocals layered on top of funky bass-lines and syncopated beats, it’s hard not to get instantly hooked.
Big beat tunes, hand claps and off-the-wall laptop-derived sounds combine with dark, sinister lyrics to form a syncopated mess of noise and rhythm. Tracks such as the slow, jazzy ‘Moider’ works squishy, fat, brassy notes over staccatos of screeching whilst the atmospheric ‘Average Fish’ displays Alan Edge’s deep, rough voice over squeals of woodwind.
The mingling of dance tracks with funk and slow beats gives the album a slight rough finish- but it is this sheer diversity of output, constantly keeping you on your toes- which is what makes the album so unique and special.
