A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Bambies’ Snotty Angels LP. Rare is the band that is capable of taking a very well-established sound, tweaking it ever-so-slightly and landing on something that is instantly rewarding and gratifying for those who hear it, but Bambies – a teeny tiny band on an even smaller label – have made an album which lands them among that aforementioned select few. The band’s sophomore album is just bombastic; from front to back, the band never once lets its’ collective foot off the gas, choosing instead to invite listeners aboard for a ride, then winning them over by just bowling them over. While other bands would break stride on their way through their new record’s running to illustrate that they have some heart or depth about their presence, Bambies choose instead to prove that they can keep this up indefinitely – and they’re the only ones who could do it.
Even The Ramones had to slow down occasionally through most of their albums – Bambies don’t, though.
As soon as needle catches groove on the A-side of Snotty Angels, listeners are subjected to precisely what they’ll be able to expect for the duration of the album’s running: with a nasal vocal that calls to mind Cartman from South Park over top of muscular but lean guitars, bass and drums which call to mind The Dead Boys (but with natural, pedal-free distortion on the guitar – it’s all created with volume), the band just runs balls-out and as hard as it can with no frills attached at all (no solos, no nonsense, barely any guitar heroics at all, really) for a minute and a half, and then just stops. The stop is so hard and complete (and the song was so short) that it takes a second for listeners to realize that it was complete, but “Devolution” starts before they can wonder for long and they’ll be swept along as the band uses a similar formula to the one which powered “Far Out”.
After “Devolution” proves to listeners that “Far Out” wasn’t a fluke, “Love Bite” feels a little more playful (albeit in a very Round Eye-informed, vaguely mean kind of way) but keeps the form intact before “No Front Teeth” lives up to its name and tries to knock a few Chiclets from listeners’ heads, “Billy Was A Boy” proves that even a nasal voice can be melodic and memorable while “Night Creep” proves that it’s possible to know exactly how a band’s songwriting formula goes but they can still be capable of producing a bum melody – but still rebound to produce the greatest highlight on the side to close it on “Teenage Night”. There, Bambies manage to make the kind of song that every punk band has produced at one point or another sound positively explosive, spectacular and all-their-own – somehow. Again, the nasal vocals are pretty standard-issue but, coupled with the close-to-cutesy vocal and production, the song will have gripped the pleasure centre of every brain it touches and will have those who hear it begging for more after the song runs out – two minutes after it starts.
While other cuts n the A-side of Snotty Angels are respectable enough from a lean, college-punk standpoint, “Teenage Night” is the cut that’s really capable of capturing imaginations and will have listeners flipping the record over, anxiously hoping for something comparable. To its credit, “Beat Up” captures the “we’re a band trying to write a great song” angle that The Ramones and The Dead Boys set a precedent for really well. There again, the band strikes a cutesy pose complete with well-placed “uh oh”s and easily the best guitar solo on the album, which makes the song an absolute standout and really sets a standard for the rest of the side. The bass line which drives “Bad Seed,”and the pretty hard feelings spread all over “Let Me Burn” do the exact same thing and, while “Gott Und Satan” feels simultaneously unintelligible and repetitive (the guitar part sounds a little like “Summertime Blues,” but not enough to be actionable, and the vocals are in German), it holds up well enough and is also short enough to let listeners still feel like they’re having fun until the needle lifts. In spite of its obvious shortcomings, “Gott Und Satan” is a solid enough close to ensure that those who have gone front-to-back with the album could feel good about doing it again, on the right day – although trying to do it more than once on the same day would likely feel a little excessive.
…And, after the needle has lifted, it’s funny but it’s really easy to feel good or really impatient with Snotty Angels. On the right day, the snide cuteness which characterizes the album can make it great, and the thing which can brighten a listener’s day – but it can also be the thing that one feels compelled to apologize for putting on, on the wrong day. Which of those two angles will be the enduring one is unclear no matter how often one listens to the album, so the only way to know for sure will be to hear whatever Bambies release next. It’s true that Snotty Angels might just be a great gateway to a solid career – but we won’t get to know for sure until we hear whatever Bambies release next. [Bill Adams]
Artist:
https://thebambies.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/lesbambies
https://www.instagram.com/bambiesbambiesbambies
Album:
The Snotty Angels LP is out now. Buy it here, from Bambies’ bandcamp page.
