LimeWire Music Blog

First things first: yes, that annoying “greater than” sign is really part of their name. Now then — the Bristol-based Beak> is a brand-spanking-new group that only just got together in January of 2009, but the individual members’ backstories are a bit meatier. Bassist Billy Fuller, for instance, has played with the likes of Massive Attack and Robert Plant, and Geoff Barrow is both a heavyweight producer (The Horrors, The Coral, Tricky) and a founding member of Portishead. Together with third man Matt Williams, they offer sparse, mostly instrumental tracks that make maximum use of space, developing over time and employing minimalist techniques for a sound that blends post-rock of the Mogwai/Explosions in the Sky variety with Neu!-like krautrock, ambient IDM, and electro-acoustic drones à la composer La Monte Young. The trio is at its best when it keeps things streamlined with terse tones and clipped rhythms, as the tracks that utilize distorted guitars for a swampier feel tend to get too bogged down, especially in those moments when murky vocals come into play. But when they’re firing on all cylinders, Beak> present an intriguing paradigm that’s simultaneously atmospheric and kinetic.