Video Beast

Video Beast
Gooch
BY CHRIS CONATON
1 September 2015

Video Beast’s Gooch is a wonderfully sloppy and vulgar debut album. The trio feel like they could fall apart at any moment, especially with their herky-jerky songwriting that finds them shifting tempos and styles multiple times within most songs. The band is held together by drummer Dave Weinstein’s complete command of his instrument, guiding singer/guitarist Fabian Jimenez and bassist Matt Gevaza through every change with confidence.

It helps that Jimenez has an ear for melody, be it a vocal line or guitar riff. With a vocalist that focused on shouting or screaming, Gooch would be a much tougher listen. Jimenez’s singing voice is no great shakes, tending toward the nasal (and intentionally exaggerating that nasal tone at times) but he sings with passion and he keeps his melodies right in his limited vocal range. By keeping the focus mostly on those catchy bits, it makes Video Beast’s tendencies towards post-punk influenced weirdness much more palatable.

“Chimp Strength” is an interesting choice for the band’s first single. With lyrics seemingly about a young couple that doesn’t want to wait for sex and where the woman is the aggressor, the band presents the song as a driving punk romp. For all the praise I just gave the band about their reliance on melody, “Chimp Strength” operates on energy more than anything else. The de facto chorus, “She loves you / Yeah yeah / She loves you / Yeah yeah” only gets melodic when Weinstein’s “ooh”ing backing vocals come in to soften things up a bit. The song also contains a very effective bridge with more wordless “Ooh”s while the band backs off before launching into a guitar solo featuring a very unusual tone. And then it’s right back to the driving punk.

Gooch’s opening track “Hombre” is more in Video Beast’s wheelhouse. There is a catchy guitar/bass riff under the verses, and in lieu of a traditional chorus, the center section features a very melodic sing along. Then the song fades away into acoustic guitar strumming for a kind of coda, undercut by the intentionally silly inclusion of a twanging jaw harp. “Teenscreams” has the album’s hookiest guitar line running through the verses, and an easy to sing chorus where Jimenez repeats, “Faith / Will never get you nowhere”. It is probably the record’s most straightforward song; it’s a straight-ahead, mid-tempo pop-punk song.

On the other end of the spectrum is the song “Buzzcuca”, which begins with a slow, heavy, buzzing bassline and a creepy guitar riff before launching into a hardcore-style break that lasts for about 30 seconds before sliding back into the opening riff. The song goes back and forth between these two extremes several times before settling back into the original riff, which at this point has been repeated ad nauseam. And then the band acknowledges and punctures this by stopping the song right in the middle of one of those riffs.

The album finishes on an unusual note. “Tropical Fantasy” is a laid-back slow jam filled out with violin, cello, and pedal steel guitar that lasts a full seven minutes. The odd chorus manages to be genuinely unsettling without really changing the feel of the song much. Jimenez’s guitar just makes things creepy with a simple riff change. But it’s that laid-back jam that dominates the song, and as the song comes to a close, Jimenez puts a pin on why the song’s chord progression feels so familiar. He changes his part just slightly and suddenly, the song sounds exactly like Stone Temple Pilots’ ‘90s hit “Plush”. That seems to be how Video Beast operates: they may take their music seriously, but they certainly don’t take themselves seriously. - PopMatters

Video Beast - Gooch (Video Beast)
18 May 2015
by Chuck Foster

New York City’s Video Beast emerge with an explosive debut that nods heavily to ’90s grunge and alternative rock, but without nostalgia.

Gooch effectively blends psychedelic confusion and punk tension into a fiery, volcanic mass. Fabian Jimenez’s vocals recall Tripping Daisy’s Tim DeLaughter, while his guitar seamlessly shifts from grungy Nirvana-like riffs to spacey, atmospheric leads within the impossibly complex song structures. Drummer Dave Weinstein hits with Dave Grohl’s power and the intensity of punk drummer, Chuck Biscuits (Black Flag, DOA, Circle Jerks), kept on focus by bassist Matt Gevaza, who tastefully adds depth without impeding momentum. It’s a glorious headtrip of fuzz, space and energy worked into a singular lysergic equation.

Where a ’90s sound usually elicits bland rehashings of bands that should have been forgotten, Video Beast took what they learned, ran with it and placed it firmly within the current paradigm. Brace yourself – it’s one helluva ride. - The Big Takeover

Stray Cats, Video Beast, Scenic Void, & more
By Bob Suehs

Video Beast
“Gooch”

I’m sad I didn’t pop this disc into the player a bit sooner; I’ll admit that I got backlogged with work and some of my reviews were sidelined. This record intrigues me with it’s cover and the music is a fitting style to the records artwork.

NYC styled punk rock with riffs-a-plenty, fast paced, raw, and totally fresh sounding in this stale musical climate, Video Beast’s latest work of art is a fun 10 song romp into the dark side of rock and punk. The lyrical content is secondary to the bands energy and sound; this record doesn’t sound overproduced, it’s got a very 80’s rawness to it and I like that the band isn’t afraid to change the tempos and experiment. “Bangalore” changes tempos and tones several times to where it’s like a few different songs are combined as one.

Every song stands out as an individual which is a good thing because no matter which song you listen to it’s a good representation of what Video Beast is about. The band is currently tearing up the NYC scene and hopefully will take their show on the road so the rest of the country can see what Video Beast are about. - Rock N Roll Experience

Gooch is the new album from Brooklyn alternative, grunge, post punk three piece, Video Beast. Get ready for a wild ride on the dark side, at break neck speed as lead singer Fabian Jimenez guides us on a psychedelic grunge binge ride filled with mistrust, anger and retaliation. The subject matter is very relevant, mostly raw and unrefined which uniquely adds depth to the lyrical content mirroring the roller coaster ride of rolling drums licks form drummer Dave Wienstien. The band is anchored by bassist Matt Gevaza who manages to keep the sound grounded and honest with lush bass melodies. Gooch is the new album from Video Beast out today. Our personal favorite track from the album is "Chimp Strength" for which an accompanying music video has been shot that will be released later this week. Dive in below ! - Indie Bushwick

New Music Tuesday: Video Beast want to kill your brainwashing TV
by Kelly McClure

TV is a huge part of every day life for a lot of people. Since the invention of the boob tube, it’s been that way, and it’s especially so now what with the rise in co-dependence between the majority of society and Netflix, Apple TV, Roku, etc. Binge watching Netflix is a viable Saturday night plan now. And who cares? Well, Brooklyn band Video Beast cares. Big time.

Video Beast are releasing their debut album, Gooch today which, according to a press release I received about it, addresses the band’s feelings towards mass media, war, religion, and capitalism. Unfortunately for me I didn’t read the press release all the way through before firing off my question to them for this post, which was “Describe the last time you binge watched a show. And if you don’t do that at all, describe why,” and so I got my “Gooch” ripped off. Here’s what lead singer/guitarist Fabian had to say:

“To be honest, I don’t watch much TV, because I have a hard time finding anything that I think is worth watching. I find it to be the same repetitive formula over and over again. It’s a distraction. It’s kind of hard to believe that millions of watchers buy into it. The reality is that we’re living in a dystopia. Like our band name, “Video Beast,” which refers to the videos that the media feeds society. It’s the ultimate brainwashing tool, and it works.”

I have to admit, I do question whether or not my repeated viewings of the entire Gilmore Girls series are what causes me to feel like I NEED to drink no less than an entire pot of coffee a day. Maybe Video Beast are onto something here.

Let’s see what else we can learn from the teachings of this wise band. Here is the track “Chimp Strength” off their brand new album.

It’s nice to be reminded that we have options. The energetic, almost joyously obnoxious (in a good way) sound of Video Beast prods listeners to un-peel from the sofa and explore weirder options. One thing I just thought of that I could personally focus on instead of a flat screen is the scientific exploration of the percentage of TV haters and how that same percentage of folks match up with people who hate air conditioning. I bet there’s a lot of intersecting there. Think about it. - Brokelyn