Bass Drum Of Death (John and Jim Barrett, Ian Kirkpatrick) kick off the second leg of their headline tour on March 24th and recently added a run of Canadian dates for May/June. The band’s new album, Say I Won’t, came out at the end of January, with four videos being shared prior to the album’s release; the Zeppelin-esque ‘Head Change‘, the midtempo bruiser ‘Say Your Prayers‘ (a collaboration with Mike Kerr of Royal Blood), the hi-octane ‘Find It‘ and the anthemic ‘Everybody’s Gonna Be There’.
Say I Won’t is the first Bass Drum of Death album written, demoed, and recorded with the touring band, instead of bandleader John Barrett doing everything on his own. He found a freedom in working with collaborators that wasn’t available to him before, opening different aspects of the songwriting. It was a process of live recording, layering on different parts and overdubs, and then stripping it all back to the bones of the song, keeping the raw wild heart of the music intact. “My first two records were made entirely by me alone with my gear, my laptop, and a Snowball USB mic,” says Barrett. “They were just made quickly, cheaply, as an excuse to tour. I wanted to take my time with this record. Make something good that I was proud of in itself.”
The band recorded the new record with Patrick Carney of The Black Keys at Audio Eagle Studios in Nashville and the result is a groove-oriented, 1970’s-indebted collection of rock songs, with tempos set for cruising and scuzzy guitars galore. There’s an energy and vitality to the music that feels in line with the best of the Bass Drum songs, but with an added boost that comes from new bandmates and a new perspective.
The album finds a reinvigorated Barrett firing at all cylinders, backed by his best band yet. It’s Bass Drum of Death at their loosest and scuzziest and most tuneful, a true rock record in all the right ways. It’s a throwback by way of moving forward, sporting a maturity and swagger that comes from a decade of playing music on the road and surviving to tell about it. More than anything, Say I Won’t is a blast to listen to, music built for driving with your stereo cranked.
A phenomenal live act, they are not to be missed. Tickets are available through the band’s website.
– via Press Release
