As if to beat their critics to the punch on the 90s revivalist complaints, Leeds fuzz pop band Menace Beach took their name from an old Nintendo skateboarding video game, which also neatly sums up their bratty approach to bubblegum grunge. Throwback factor aside, there is a lot of shameless fun on offer, though little imagination. But what they lack in originality they make up for in hooks and enthusiasm.
References to the blown-out dissonance and feedback of the Jesus and Mary Chain and plenty of those warbly My Bloody Valentine bent chords abound, but the overall mood is closer to the bouncy Britpop of Supergrass or Elastica. There are also nods to the Breeders and Eric’s Trip’s lo-fi grunge pop. It’s as if Menace Beach took a cross-section of early 90s alt-rock radio and swirled it together, ending up with something best described as an extroverted shoegazer band.
Top track: Ratworld
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