I hate it when a newer band has the stigma of being associated with an already well-known band. It clouds my judgment of their music for some reason, and I too often compare the two, which is neither fair nor logical. For instance, both Beep Beep and The Faint share the same bass player, Joel Peterson. However, when looking further into the Saddle Creek roster, it seems that many Omaha bands have interchanged members, but isn’t that how most scenes thrive?
What I’m really trying to say here is that Beep Beep and The Faint may have similar tastes in bass players, but that is truly about it. Beep Beep have a much more urgent sound, and their debut, Business Casual, isn’t shy about showing off the band’s contempt for all things mundane. By this I mean that Beep Beep’s lyrical content focuses on air-conditioned cages that are better known as cubicles. Just as Office Space blew the lid off of the dreary world of corporate-drone culture, Beep Beep does much of the same mocking in this manic 10-song LP.
Songs like “I Am the Secretary” and “Executive Foliage” dissect the emotionless life that barely sustains under the fluorescent lights in the ant-farm-like-office buildings of a bland America. The lyrics are dry and inhuman, pairing perfectly with their sharp and jittered sound. The most disturbing lyrics come from a track called “Giggle Giggle” in which singer/songwriter Chris Hughes creepily whispers “Now, lick your lips my pubescent prisoner/I’m gonna hunt you like a tiger/ two cats in a cage, but one has a boner.”
Overall, Business Casual is abrasive, heat producing and damn good. Hughes’ voice is enough to raise the hair on the back of your neck, but in a good way. The only thing I wish is that the lyrics were a little easier to decipher, but the shock of reading what he was squealing was almost just was exciting as listening to the album itself.
