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Clipd Beaks

Who? The abrasive noiseniks in Clipd Beaks bonded earlyon in the icy air and basements of Minneapolis — bassist Scott Eckleinand drummer Ray Benjamin met at age seven, guitarist Greg Pritchardjoined them as a teenager after kicking around area hardcore bands, butwith singer Nic Barbein signing on in 2003, Clipd Beaks was born. Aself-released debut preceded the band’s 2005 move to Oakland,California that got the their career moving, with Tigerbeat6 releasingthe 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 hiskit, Pritchard yanks shards of atonal broken glass out of his devicesand Barbein’s heavily effected vocals ratchet the freak factor beyondall reasonable limits. It ain’t pretty, but for lovers of zoned-outracket there’s not much better out there this year. “We start from thepoint of moving in four different directions at once and go fromthere,” guitarist Greg Pritchard tells SPIN.com. “There’s not really afeeling that a song needs to be made into a cohesive thing.”

Fun Fact:With a Mobius strip of effects pedals, mixers and other gadgetsassembled at his feet, Pritchard’s live setup is so complex that soundengineers generally throw their hands up and head back to the booth.”We’ve only ever had two soundchecks,” Pritchard explains. “One ofthose was because the sound guy was this British dude who had touredwith Throbbing Gristle and was used to that kind of gear. But our usualresponse is to turn everything up as loud as possible and just hope forthe 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?