Those who know their music history will know that the West Midlands town of Stourbridge was regarded by many as the real heart of the UK baggy scene in the late eighties, rather than the more talked about Manchester. (After all, nobody had heard of Manchester before Shayne Ward won X-Factor.) Admittedly, it was an opinion held mainly by people from Stourbridge, but they did throw up a few great bands that broke through and were known for the scruffy, anarchic alternative Greebo movement.
Well, history lesson aside, it looks like that town is a contender once more with Balaban and the Bald Illeagles. Reference points abound in their music, across genre and indeed geography, everything from Joy Division’s cooler (in both senses of the word) deliveries to Sonic Youth’s barely controlled incendiary chaos, and from Magazine’s post-punk genre warping to Dinosaur Jr.’s scuzzy abrasiveness. It’s all in the mix.
And as wild and intense as “P.T.A.B” is, give it a few spins, and you realize that their sound is cleverer than you might think at first. Big and bombastic, yes, but also full of brooding dynamics and shaped by sonic tides that allow space for squalling yet intricate guitar lines and even a few arabesque vibes, intriguing, apocalyptic lyrics, and driving and seductive sonics.
And what does “P.T.A.B” mean? Patent Trial and Appeal Board? Percutaneous Transmural Arterial Bypass? Past the Articokes Brenda? Who knows. All that matters is that on the strength of this band and this song, Stourbridge will rise again.
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