Album Review: Meeks - Beatless - Shoegaze Covers of The Beatles

Meeks

Beatless - Shoegaze Covers of The Beatles

*** out of *****

The Japanese band Meeks has titled an album exactly what they are offering, Shoegaze Covers of The Beatles. No poetic license here, except when it comes to distorting the classic tracks with  fuzz, feedback and distortion adding a layer of shimmering (and not to invasive) static to the Liverpool Lads all-time classics.

Meeks seems to be a side project to the band Broken Little Sister but the exact contributions aren't as important as the overall sound of things on Beatless. Taking their cue straight out of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless soundscape (even down to the cover art) the group has painted tracks like "And I Love Her", "Yesterday" and "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" with wavy lines of floating reverb and spaciness.    

The best uses of of this style shows up in very different songs, "Tomorrow Never Knows" was practically "shoegaze" in its original form and hence plays as a perfect fit here, however the beautifully simple George Harrison tune "Something" finds new depth with the treatment taking on an unworldly feel. The swirling "In My Life" with odd timed block hits is a blissful psychedelic journey. "Strawberry Fields Forever" displays light horns and a confidence in it's rewinding production before "Let It Be" ends the disk in languid fashion.  

Other tracks that had promise like "Nowhere Man" and "Across The Universe" don't get as tripped out and experimental as they possibly could have, but the group seems to be playing things pretty straight ahead throughout just scuffing up the production. 

Individual appreciation of this effort will basically come down on how you feel about the shoegaze style as a whole, however if you have never really given it a listen, using the Beatles as a gateway seems like a logical first step. As a side project this effort lives up to the promise of its title and makes for a dreamy listen.
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We dig on this style, yet we could go for a bit weirder and energetic then Meeks offers up for most of Beatless, but the idea and execution is tight.

Haven't really found too much information on the band online, feel free to share in the comments, but here are a few samples to check out:
"Tomorrow Never Knows"

"Let It Be"