Beket Thrives in “Bad Form”
By: Chapman Suther
Greenville, South Carolina’s Beket sets itself apart from its regional peers with the release of “Bad Form,” an album that showcases the band’s meticulous approach to atmosphere and detail and demands attention from listeners.
While most casual listeners cannot distinguish it and independent artists are loathe to acknowledge it, there is often a subtle sonic divide between “indie” and “industry” music. Much of the time, underdog artists cannot quite seem to achieve the massive, immersive, articulate sounds they hope for on their recordings. Beket worked diligently to escape this trap: the guitar tones, drums, and audio production on “Bad Form” are superb.
“Bad Form” is full of really clear, polished tones that are uncompromised by production or editing. The album is ripe with intense emotions, and deserves time to process. It is dynamic; each song has the potential to lash out, or to assume the fetal position at any turn. This is a tight, powerful album that begs for multiple listens.
A tight, breathable mesh of varied guitar performances blankets each track, creating a cohesive mood without smothering the focus of any particular song. Guitarists Ethan Taylor and Preston Keepfer invested vast amounts of time honing the guitar parts and tones for the recordings in Keepfer’s home studio.
The first 30 seconds of the first track, titled “The Thieves,” are a gentle swell that unleash a clean, reverb-drenched guitar riff and Ethan Taylor’s raw and bare musings: “I’ve been having such bad thoughts.”
“Guardrails” and “Buyer’s Remorse” are similar in the way they use space and ambience to create a lost but hopeful attitude within the music.
In contrast to the dreamy, reminiscent corners of the album, songs like”On the Left,” “Embarassed,” and “Burning Bush” throw fuel on the flames, with beastly drums, heavy guitars, and gut-wrenching screams. “Burning Bush” is interesting in the way it begins with a low-fi sound and washed-out, cymbal-heavy drums; the song swells in volume and clarity before letting loose (lose) all of its power. The song bursts into a dirty, pounding force, with knockout drumming and bass guitar tones that lay heavy on the chest.
Along with “Burning Bush,” “No One Knows” and “Lose Me” capture the true weight of Jesse Horn’s bass delivery. Smart, rhythmic bass lines with thick layers of grit work tightly with the drums to punch through when necessary, but Horn knows when to fall back and play for ambience in simpler tracks.
Drake Kent’s drumming is unique for each song, both intense and spacious. Lots of heavy fills, tom grooves, and rhythmic additions such as triplets and double-kicks beg for the listener’s attention. The near-perfect production quality of the drums was achieved with the help of Jay Arrington at Greenbriar Studios in Spartanburg South Carolina. Deep, heavy, resonating, and clear drum tones create the outlines of each song. While active and entertaining, they leave room for the intricacies of the guitar, bass, and vocal contributions. Notable are the many tasteful tom-grooves, especially on “Lose Me,” the cymbal and hi-hat work — such as the swells in “Burning Bush” and the triplets in “Embarrassed,” and the minimalism in songs like “On the Right” and “Guardrails.”
Beket is undeniably recommended for fans of Brand New, with strong influence clear throughout the album in its darkness, vulnerability, and angst, but other artists such as Taking Back Sunday, the Used, Manchester Orchestra, and Thrice also chime in at certain points. Important here is that the emulated sounds never outweigh the sound of Beket; this band undeniably has its own sound, based in a respectable blend of influences.
At the time of publication, the next scheduled Beket performance is Sunday, Sept. 22 at the Radio Room in Greenville, with As Cities Burn, All Get Out, and Many Rooms.
Beket- “Bad Form” on Youtube
Beket- “Bad Form” on Spotify:
(Also available via all major platforms)
