Band Of Beards have a terribly gimmicky name (they all have beards), but hidden behind the silly gimmick, is a band of great substance. Band Of Beards have a lot going on musically, with a bit of punk’n’roll, ska, surf rock, and other influences wrapped up in their sound. The band does the fast and loud punk thing well, but they also slow down at points, and get a little wild with guitar wankery at others. Mix in some tongue-in-cheek song titles and some thoughtful and heartfelt-sounding lyrics, and you have a formula for a band that is great musically, but doesn’t take themselves all too seriously (in a good way). A few songs that showcase everything this band has to offer are the tracks “Richard Loves New Jersey,” “One Point Twenty-One Gigawatts!,” and “Buddy Was an Elf.” “Richard Loves New Jersey” opens with a bit of a slow jam before picking up the pace, and “One Point Twenty-one Gigawatts!” opens similarly before rocketing up to breakneck speed in the first verse. This song has some of the best lyrics of all the songs on this album, and the title is a sweet reference to the Back to the Future movie series. “Buddy Was an Elf” is another song of note that I really enjoyed, which has the most overtly ska-influenced sound of all the material on the album. In all, I’d say this band is an example of a band doing everything on their own terms, and succeeding admirably. Highly recommended.
–Paul J. Comeau (Band Of Beards, [email protected])