Gangbangsters - Feel Like S****

Hear The Track Here

Although I've only reviewed LA musician Gangbangsters a few times, those have certainly made an impression on me especially with the excellent 6:17AM (April 2009) which also appeared in my Tracks Of The Year list. Over the space of four tracks he has shown a remarkable ability to jump from genre to genre with apparent ease. The last track I reviewed was Somebody Get Me A Lobotomy (June 2009) and that was a convincing proto-punk anthem that managed to avoid the inevitable whiney nature of the genre. So, other than a few technical problems, its obvious that Gangbangsters have something going on and it makes me wonder when he is going to come up with a track that will knock us on our ass. Only a matter of time and circumstance once you have all those cute widdle ducks in a row.

Unfortunately Feel Like S*** is not it, even though it is charming in a lo-fi demo way which means that not only does it feel like s***, it sounds like it too. Only a small joke there on my part because - I suspect - most everything that is happening here is absolutely intended to happen, it just may take me a while to get exactly what it is. Musically, it's a loose kinda rock Alternative track with a marked tendency towards the English sound pioneered by people like Syd Barrett and early Pink Floyd pop clones - including, I might add - a very young David Jones (soon to be Bowie). All of these influences are at play on this track and it really isn't as bad as I might have made out.

As a charitable lesson on what not to do with your life, the track chorus goes 'i know this will pass, maybe its just a little gas'; pure Barrett, as are some of the other visions this musician brings along. Having said all this, there is no doubt that Feels Like S*** positively rings with authority especially with the period detail. Back in the dim days of 1967/8 things did actually sound like this, instrumentation and arrangement and I loved the touch of phasing going on in the track. Classic Summer of Love sound right there. So, as charming and likeable as it is, I don't think Feel Like S*** is going to set any fires but as an example of a rapidly maturing musician with lots and lots of ideas, it shows that with Gangbangsters anything is possible.

Highly Recommended (intentional or otherwise) walk through the past.