Exclaim Enjoys The “Bright and Menacing” Sound Of Beams

Beams’ new EP The Spark In Your Eye is a Staff Pick over at Exclaim.ca. “Moving further away from their folksier-leanings of yore, Toronto’s Beams returned in August with their psych-rock-adjacent three-track EP follow-up to 2021’s aptly titled Ego Death. Written in lockdown and recorded live off the floor from a 13-song session at Hudson Valley, NY’s Marcata Recording with producer Kevin McMahonn, the short collection is both bright and menacing, with Mike Mērnieks-Duffield’s understated-yet-crashing drumming acting as a grounding force throughout, while co-vocalists Anna Mērnieks-Duffield and Heather Mazhar’s exasperation ring true on opening track “Morning Waits” as they sing, “I used to boil it up for tea / But now I just drink hot water / I’ve been so tired.” Elsewhere, violin and vibraphone add buzzy and breezy textures, while Anna’s songwriting brings to mind both the vulnerability of Braids and attitude of Fiver.”

Read the full review here, and get the new EP from Beams started at your station. The band also has a few upcoming live dates:

09/07 – Ithaca, NY – The Upstairs
09/08 – Worchester, MA – Distant Castle
09/10 – Catskill, NY –  The Avalon Lounge