In the time since Bass Drum of Death played Dinosaur Jr. to MellowHype's Del the Funky Homosapien for a live version of "64", the Odd Future boys have forged a more palpable partnership with hardcore heroes Trash Talk. It's just as well-- Trash Talk are now very much aesthetically linked with Odd Future, which isn't a fate BDoD needed after their 2011 debut GB City. That album had some killer hooks, but a couple of unremarkable tracks kept it from being a truly powerful opening statement. This band didn't need any distractions, Odd Future-based or otherwise. John Barrett had to focus on hammering out an even better Bass Drum of Death album, and maybe more importantly, finding a distinctive aesthetic. (Barrett is the sole creative force behind Bass Drum of Death, having written and recorded the entire thing by himself.) The Mississippi native is, after all, releasing an album the same year we've gotten solid new ones from FIDLAR and Wavves, to name two.
So does their new self-titled album capitalize on the immediacy of "Get Found", differentiate itself from the rest of rock's oversaturated market, and pack in better songs? No. It doesn't do any of those things. Barrett delivers some solid melodies, but they're usually cheapened by his tendency to draw out one good idea for far too long. Every song on this album could stand to be tightened. Most could lose a verse or two, and a lot of them would sound much better if they were played faster. Seriously, this thing could dominate if it had the pacing of an OFF! record. But that's not the case. "Shattered Me" is the easy single, with its earworm melody and run-time of two minutes, and even that feels like it goes on for too long. There are tracks with good energy and solid hooks that are unfortunately long ("Bad Reputation") and some that are flat-out boring ("White Fright"). And it's easy to understand the impulse to make a paced jam with a sludgy low-end like they do with "No Demons", but the last thing this album needs is another track that feels slow.
In many ways, this album offers a natural extension of the work Barrett did on GB City, from his power chord drive to the smoke billowing out of his mouth on the cover. Like that album, this one hosts some undeniable bangers, like album opener "I Wanna Be Forgotten". It's exactly the right length, it's got the right drive for the melody, and with a spitfire delivery, Barrett knows exactly how to blurt a line like "buy a car, get fucked, be dead." Just like "Get Found" before it, it's the sort of song that could serve as a mantra of sorts for BDoD. It's a dirty, concise, satisfying summation of what they're capable of, sort of like what "Hunchback" did for Kurt Vile's Childish Prodigy. Barrett even delivers a solid psych track on "Such a Bore". The vocals and guitars on that track and the smoldering jam "Faces of the Wind" are smothered with psych reverb. As it turns out, Barrett wears Nuggets really well.
The other thing that quietly works against Bass Drum of Death is its easy comparison. Of GB City, David Bevan wrote that the band were at their best "when whipping up an evil frenzy much like those of Ty Segall," though for all that album's garage rock immediacy, Segall was undeniably the more consistent songwriter. That was two years ago, and once again, Segall feels like an inescapable point of reference. It's probably not intentional, but there are several moments where Barrett implements these vocal nuances that sound just like Ty's. And when that Segall drawl pops up in these overlong Bass Drum of Death songs, it's an unfortunate reminder that these guys don't come close to their peers' seemingly effortless way with writing tight, exciting rock songs.
