Be Forest – Earthbeat
The single, ‘Captured Heart’ caught my interest. Maybe it’ll capture yours too? (See below) Be Forest are an Italian act following in the new wave of post punk. Their bio goes on about winters which follow the autumns of blah blah blah. C’mon boy and girls, this isn’t Game Of Thrones. I suspect the bio was written with debut album Cold in mind? It also refers to Sisters, Cure, Siouxsie etc. I wonder if The Cure are their most favoured act of all, since Smith and chums had a song called ‘A Forest’ and voila, Be Forest? In any case, for my money they haven’t got that old sound in the same way as, say, Savages. Theirs is more the new, old sound. Think more DIIV, Grimes, The KVB and you’re getting warmer.
‘Totem’ is little more than an extended prolog. Everything clicks into place with ‘Captured Heart’. That smokey, cowboy twang sealed the deal for me. However, when you’ve already heard the ‘lead’ single, you really want to know if the rest of the album stands up. Earthbeat kinda half does. There are tracks that measure up and there are tracks which meander. ‘Lost Boy’ continues the, ‘I wanna be early Cocteaus’, vibe but the vocal is too sugary, too vacant to approach the fabled Liz Frazer. It’s not that at all and never will be. But they have something of their own, Be Forest. I’d bracket ‘Totem II’, ‘Colours’ and ‘Captured Heart’ as examples of the best these guys have to offer.
Be Forest showed glimpses of promise on Cold and they’re showing more here. I’m looking for an album of variety and consistency to take me on a journey time and time again. Instead Earthbeat is something to dip in and out of. Maybe someday?