Beestung Lips "Reverse Alchemy"

I love a band that list Lungfish as an influence. Out of all the longstanding Dischord bands, they’re one of last to name-drop for some reason. And while I don’t hear that much Lungfish in Beestung Lips, I commend them for recognising such a classic unsung band.

As for Beestung Lips themselves, they work under a no holds barred regime they witnessed in bands like the Jesus Lizard and Oxbow, and I wouldn’t be one to argue with them. The name is fitting: these Brummies slash and flail like their kissers have just been bombarded by a nest of vehement killer bees. The guitars tear flesh, the drums go off like an infinite string of ladyfingers, and singer Hetro Pearton unleashes that primal scream Quint set free as Bruce gnashed and tore him apart in Jaws. It’s as if they don’t have that conscience in their heads saying, "Whoa, let’s slow this shit down and chill the fuck out!” And it’s excellent.

Their M.O. appears to be "pseudo gimmicks, condescension and crawling,” but it’s most often achieved with a shit-eating grin and mouth foaming. There’s little to this feverish band that doesn’t get the blood rushing at a fatal pace. "Reverse Alchemy” speaks of human treachery, and Beestung Lips bring it in full, thrashing their hardcore punk’n’roll about whilst threatening the "Atom bomb” and "self-destruction” with full conviction. Again, I wouldn’t be one to argue with them.

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