Who? The abrasive noiseniks in Clipd Beaks bonded early on in the icy air and basements of Minneapolis -- bassist Scott Ecklein and drummer Ray Benjamin met at age seven, guitarist Greg Pritchard joined them as a teenager after kicking around area hardcore bands, but with singer Nic Barbein signing on in 2003, Clipd Beaks was born. A self-released debut preceded the band's 2005 move to Oakland, California that got the their career moving, with Tigerbeat6 releasing the Preyers EP in 2006. The Hoarse Lords LP is available now via Lovepump United.

What's the Deal? To all those who say Liars' Drum's Not Dead got too poppy or wish the Homosexuals would reform, say hello to your new favorite band. On Hoarse Lords, Ecklein's bass chugs violently, Benjamin gets positively tribal on his kit, Pritchard yanks shards of atonal broken glass out of his devices and Barbein's heavily effected vocals ratchet the freak factor beyond all reasonable limits. It ain't pretty, but for lovers of zoned-out racket there's not much better out there this year. "We start from the point of moving in four different directions at once and go from there," guitarist Greg Pritchard tells SPIN.com. "There's not really a feeling that a song needs to be made into a cohesive thing."

Fun Fact: With a Mobius strip of effects pedals, mixers and other gadgets assembled at his feet, Pritchard's live setup is so complex that sound engineers generally throw their hands up and head back to the booth. "We've only ever had two soundchecks," Pritchard explains. "One of those was because the sound guy was this British dude who had toured with Throbbing Gristle and was used to that kind of gear. But our usual response is to turn everything up as loud as possible and just hope for the best." 

Now Hear This:
Clipd Beaks - "Black Glass" DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web:
Clipd Beaks at MySpace

Talk: Will you listen when Clipd Beaks bring the noise?