Minimalist electronic-rock band Beak> plays Great American

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A wildly experimental Bristol, UK-based project put together by Portishead mainstay Geoff Barrow and Robert Plant/Massive Attack bassist Billy Fuller, electronic-rock trio Beak> returns to San Francisco for the first time in five years for this show at the Great American Music Hall.

Formed over a decade ago in 2009, Beak> initially featured Barrow and Fuller working with electronic producer/synth player Matt Williams (who records under multiple aliases including MXLX, Fairborns and Team Brick). The band modeled their approach to music after the modus operandi of pioneering krautrock minimalists Can, recording live performances in a room together and then crafting and arranging songs out of the raw sonic material through edits with no overdubs.

The band released its first self-titled effort on Barrow’s own imprint, Invada Records, as well as on singer Mike Patton’s Ipecac Records label in the U.S. late in 2009. Tracked over the course of twelve days, the trio produced a set of haunting, cinematic tunes, heavily influenced by gothic dub heard on the Bauhaus’ epic “Bela Legosi’s Dead” and the synth-based horror soundtracks of John Carpenter while being propelled by Barrow’s spare motorik drum rhythms.

The following year, Beak> would collaborate with British-German political journalist turned singer Anika (full Annika Henderson), providing production and backing on her dub-inflected avant-rock debut on Stones Throw Records that featured originals written with the band alongside covers of songs by Bob Dylan, Yoko Ono and the Kinks. In 2011, both acts would perform at All Tomorrow’s Party festivals held on both sides of the Atlantic.

Barrows would have a particularly busy 2012, releasing the sprawling debut of his hip-hop project Quakers that featured over two dozen guest MCs and a collaborative pseudo-soundtrack project Drokk: Music inspired by Mega-City One recorded with film music specialist Ben Salisbury in addition to the sophomore album by Beak>. The record, appropriately entitled >>,  continued the band’s exploration of pulsating menace and minimalism.

After a round of touring, the trio would go dormant for a time, but reconvened with electronic musician Will Young (who records and performs under the moniker Moon Gangs) taking the place of Matt Williams in 2016 to record a handful of new pieces for the soundtrack to the film Couple in a Hole that was mostly made up of previously released material. Since then, Beak> released several new singles leading up to Invada Records and Temporary Residence issuing >>> in 2018, the trio’s first full album of fresh tracks in six years.

Adding moments of bright melody and delicate textures to the band’s brooding sonic template (particularly on the buoyant “King of the Castle” and the elegiac album closer “When We Fall”), the effort marks the trio’s most eclectic effort yet. The band would release an EP the following year with three new songs and a haunting accordion version of “Allé Sauvage” from >>> by Mario Batkovic. While the pandemic kept the band off the road, Barrow and Beak> have remained busy. In addition to recording a number of soundtracks with Salisbury (for the television shows Devs and Archive 81 and director Alex Garland’s latest horror film Men), hip-hop super group Quakers released their first album in eight years, while the drummer/producer also recorded a fascinating radio show for Sonos called Geoff Barrow’s Braincell that delved into his influences, playing an array of hip-hop, soundtrack and experimental rock rarities with entertaining commentary. 

In 2021, Beak> released its first new music in several years with the digital single “Oh Know.” The band makes a welcome return to San Francisco this Thursday, headlining the Great American Music Hall ahead of an appearance at the Los Angeles edition of the Primavera Sound music festival. The trio is joined by Clarke and the Himselfs, a Los Angeles-based trans singer/songwriter who bashes out her infectious solo, lo-fi garage-pop while simultaneously playing guitar and drums.  

Beak> with Clarke and the Himselfs
Thursday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m. $22-$24
Great American Music Hall