OMRDST-010 The Battlebeats “Search & Destroy” 12” vinyl LP

Andresa Nugraha is back with an entire album of garage-punk trash smashers! His one-man project The Battlebeats released its debut EP last August. Now we get a full long player from The Battlebeats called Search and Destroy. Just like last time, Andresa plays everything on his own - working with a guitar plugged into an overdrive pedal and a 15-watt amp, a floor tom-snare drum set, tambourine, and no bass. He makes no attempt to hide what The Battlebeats are all about. Search and Destroy was recorded under the heavy influence of The Reatards, Teengenerate, and Persuaders. In fact, Andresa traces the very existence of this band to his hearing Teengenerate's "Get Me Back" online back in 2013 and his subsequent effort to download the band's entire discography! The sound here is raw and ferocious, with songs alternating between the wild, blown-out rock and roll of tracks like "You're My Wild One" and "I Wanna Break Away" and the snot-drenched rage of "She's So Overrated" and "You Stabbed Me In The Back" (re-recorded for this album!). This is exactly the way lo-fi garage punk ought to be: cheaply-recorded, brimming with untamed energy, and stripped to the essence of three-chord simplicity. Songs for the most part clock in under two minutes - and even at 17 tracks, the album leaves me wanting more. Crank up the volume and make like the '90s never ended!"

—Josh Ruthledge (Faster and Louder Blog review of The Battlebeats' Search And Destroy)  see less