The Beta Band: Hot Shots II : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

There's a fine line between quirky and obnoxiously weird. Just ask the Beta Band. With their first U.S. release, 1998's The Three E.P.'s collection, the Scottish foursome threw together an appealingly drippy mix of trippy folk, hip-hop, rambling psychedelia, funk and ambient beats. But on their second effort, the chaotic, unwieldy The Beta Band, they drove the freak truck into a ditch. Even frontman Steve Mason called the record "fucking awful."

Sometimes a little self-loathing goes a long way. Hot Shots II does its best to return to the epic soundscapes of The Three E.P.'s; the long grooves and easy melodies are back, and the band's tendency toward the diffuse has been reined in. The group's new self-control is evident on the gorgeous "Gone," a minimalist ballad featuring only cooing vocals, lilting piano, and a quiet guitar and bass. "Human Being" is an archetypal Beta Band number, tossing in horns, turntable scratches, harmonica, acoustic strumming and chantlike singing before devolving into a squealing guitar and organ rave-up. It's a heady, eclectic mix, and, like the best of the band's work, as satisfying as it is unique.

MATT HENDRICKSON
(RS 873 - July 19, 2001)