Blame It On Edd are one of those bands I wish I’d heard earlier – they’ve been going for a few years now and Milk The World is the culmination of over three years of sitting unnoticed on the top of the pile. Make no mistake, this band is seriously fucking impressive, and what’s most pleasing is that there’s not a shred of ego or pretension (they even slip in a bit of glockenspiel frippery on ‘Jackboots’ without coming off as twats) anywhere to be found. I know some people don’t read the entire review so I’ll just sum it up here – GO FIND THIS BAND AND APPRECIATE THEM.
On with the rest of the words. BIOE play an interesting mix of vicious punk rock and acerbic ska, like Antimaniax playing Propagandhi covers, best showcased on ‘Snorting Ajax’ and ‘I’m an Evil Tory Bigot’ which are both stormingly punchy tracks, filled with both catchy riffs and sledgehammer guitars, all with an inimitable sense of personality. Just listen to the snarled “…baby!†(trust me on this one) on ‘…Bigot’ for an example of BIOE trying something a little different. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s sure as hell exciting to hear a band that couldn’t be more different to the identikit shite clogging up punk music nowadays. Even when most ska bands are shying away from the dreaded offbeat, BIOE embrace a tired genre and insert electrodes up its diseased ringpiece, with the results being a schizophrenic album that never fails to entertain while retaining a social conscience that is a world away from both the stereotypical punk posturing and the privileged apathy of the eyelinercore invasion.
Even a cursory listen to ‘Pinkie: The Decline of the Phallus’ or ‘Mental Health’ shows why BIOE are worth taking notice of. Musical intricacies brought about by two guitarists imaginative enough to slip in the odd trick here and there, and the collision between rolling rhythms and melodic nous is just fantastic. There’s a definite lo-fi, Farewell To Arms/Drink Drivers feel to the sound and the scratchyness works well, especially on the genuinely affecting ‘Dead Men’ which incorporates a cello perfectly. ‘Liss’ and ‘Carling Premiership’ are bonus tracks, and signal a heavier direction for the band with bigger choruses and stronger structures, which only suggests that BIOE are going get better and better. And for a band this good now, their prospects are bright-as-fuck to say the least.
Ben
www.blameitonedd.co.uk
www.positiveimpactrecords.com