Playlist: Bearfoot Beware’s influences

Leeds DIY punk/noise-rock outfit Bearfoot Beware their new album Sea Magnolia on 16th March via Superstar Destroy Records and we got the band to curate a playlist based on their influences. Over to guys, but first check out their new track ‘Point Scorer’

 

We decided to split 10 songs that have influenced us into 3 each and one which has had an effect on the three of us. The songs are either old ones that are still on rotation or new ones that were in our minds when we wrote this record. We spend quite a lot of time writing and so what we are listening to for each song usually changes quite a bit which leads to quite a diverse end result, but that just means it keeps things interesting.

 

Tom Bradley – Guitar, vocals

 

Drive Like Jehu – Luau

 

 

It rises, it falls, it has an ever-present groove and John Reis throwing noise everywhere. Rick Froberg’s voice rings true. That pre-chorus riff that rolls into the chorus is ever present in my internal jukebox. Absolute masterclass.

 

Fugazi – Merchandise

 

 

I have to mention this band but it’s hard to pick which song/album as it each has its own idiosyncrasies that make it great. I always felt this song lyrically always hit home. They weren’t afraid of getting their message across and communicated it perfectly – ‘You are not what you own’.

 

PILE – Mr Fish

 

 

PILE seem to mix so many closely related genres up but skillfully make it sound all their own. Hook after hook, bursting with the kind of creativity that I aspire to achieve, so this more recent band has influenced this album.

 

Ric Vowden – Bass, vocals

 

Meet Me In St. Louis – I’ve Got Knives In My Eyes, I’m Going Home Sick

 

 

This song still blows my mind every time I hear it. The way that MMISL keep a song moving forward and deliver so many different hooks definately has an influence on the way I write. I think hearing what Lewis Reynolds could do on a bass and seeing how he performed on stage made me the live bassist I am today.

 

Hot Water Music – Jack of all trades

 

 

 

HWM have been a staple favourite of mine for years. I love the way their songs work and A Flight and a Crash is one of my favourite albums of all time. I think the way the bass lines move around the songs has always made me push to come up with something more interesting.

 

 

 

Irk – Care Taker

 

 

 

 

 

We share a practice space in Leeds with Irk and Ed’s bass playing has been a influence on me especially on this record. I think the verse bass line for Future Beaut came from trying to work out Ed’s style and mashing it with my own.

 

 

 

Michael Osborne – Drums

 

 

Telefon Tel Aviv – The Birds

 

 

The perfect mixture of human imperfection blended with electronic music. It was the perfect soundtrack to a French sunrise, coming off the euro ferry on my first backpacking trip.

 

Refused – Refused Are Fucking Dead

 

 

Refused had a huge influence on my playing & approach to drumming as a whole. Hard hitting, clever and subversive.

 

Battles – Race : In

 

 

Brilliant band, brilliant drummer. Absolute masterclass in the effectiveness of solid grooves & minimal flare.

and Bearfoot Beware as a whole

 

Mars Volta – Drunkship of Lanterns

 

That’s how to write a song, it’s got everything we look for in music. It constantly moves forward, it’s got hooks, it’s technically brilliant, and it’s full of emotion.