What: “Epilog” by Becuz
Netlabel: KANAL30 Netlabel
I believe I may have stumbled on to Indonesia’s answer to one of America’s alt-rock icons. This July, 2014 album from Becuz is full of odd tunings, distorted guitars, and epic tracks. It grabbed me right from the opening notes.
“Ambigu” (“Ambiguous”) starts strong with a loud flanged guitar intro, which leads to spoken word verses and wordlessly sung choruses. Listening to new music I find I’m always playing the “What does this remind me of?” game. By half way through track 2 (“Sudut Diam” or translated as “Silent Corner”) I had decided Becuz sounded like PJ Harvey (you know, if she was Indonesian) backed by Fugazi.
However, the third song “Difusi” (“Diffusion”) starts off sounding like Sonic Youth, albeit with some unexpected melodica. The bulk of this track, and the rest of the songs beyond this point, moves into a more obvious SY vibe. Eventually it occurred to me that this band is likely named after the Sonic Youth song of the same name. They have learned well the skills of what must be their main musical influence.
I’m at a bit of a disadvantage with the language barrier, but the band Twitter account (@becuz_noise) seems to indicate they have five members (each of whom has his/her own linked Twitter accounts), but that’s about all I can tell you. This music piqued my interest on first listen – great production, great playing, and great songs. Great job Becuz.
KANAL30 Netlabel is based in Malang, Indonesia, and is run by Eko Marjani. It looks like they started releasing music in 2013. I’ll be keeping an eye on this site for sure.