Listen: Pearl and the Beard - "Again Animal"

photo by Shervin Lainez

With the raucous power pop of "You" Brooklyn indie pop trio Pearl and the Beard ensured that the introduction to their upcoming album Beast every bit as triumphant as it deserved to be. The threesome were finally free from the confines of the studio, their record was successfully crowdfunded to completion, and they wasn't a tour date in sight. "Again Animal" find Pearl and the Beard in a slightly different place. Recently back from a slew of dates opening for Ani DiFranco, ready to embark on yet another with Pig Pen Theater Co, and with the details of Beast still more or less under wraps while they figure out how to distribute the damn thing "Again Animal" is a wonderful reminder that Pearl and the Beard are working their hardest and are here to stay.


The second song on the album immediately following "You", "Again Animal" dials down the sense of urgency but remains a similarly assured power pop confection. Where "You" functioned as showpiece for Jocelyn Mackenzie, "Again Animal" see-saws main vocal duties between Mackenzie and Emily Hope Price while bringing in Jeremy Styles for backing vocals and the resplendent harmonies of the chorus before turning his silvery falsetto loose in the song's climax. "Again Animal" is as much of an instrumental frenzy as it is a vocal one - built on Mackenzie's drumming, Styles and Price manage to find the perfect balance of percussive playing without losing any melodic power. There's a lot of arresting music moments to account for in "Again Animal" from its beautiful high-flying harmonies to its momentous surges.

Compositional dense but lyrically nimble, "Again Animal" is a multi-faceted track that shows off Pearl and the Beard at an obvious creative peak. That bodes well not only for the rest of Beast as each track proves itself even better than the one that preceded it but also for Pearl and the Beard in the long run. Here's hoping it's not too long now before Pearl and the Beard can show off their fancy new album and get to work on the next one.



Pearl and the Beard's third album Beast will be out later this year.

Listen: Pearl and the Beard - "You"

                                                   (photo by Shervin Lainez)

Well this has been a long time coming - since being introduced to Pearl and the Beard (after an irrationally long time of putting them off) in the summer of  2013 at The Wild Honey Pie's Welcome Campers, I've been fiending for the new Pearl and the Beard record. Fans of theirs had the opportunity to pre-order the record  - titled Beast, and were given the gift of a stream/download while the band got all their ducks in a row with all the particulars of the new record. But for me, that wasn't good enough. Pearl and the Beard, from the moment their music crackled on my skin like static electricity, were a sharing band.  "Have you heard of 'Pearl and the Beard?" I would ask my similar musically inclined friends, casual acquaintances, strangers I had just met at parties. It was getting ridiculous but such is the strength of their new songs and I wanted everyone to hear them.

"You", the first taste of Beast, is a perfect introduction to the band for the uninitiated and a lovely roaring return for those fans waiting, patiently, for the band's follow up to 2011's Killing Your Darlings. It's a bliss-inducing burst of pop filled to the brim with insistent fervor. "Can you hear me? Got a megaphone on my forever beating heart/Come on get it through your skull that I want you and all of your flaws" - Jocelyn Mackenzie roars right out the gate. "You" may invoke the feelings of all-consuming love but Mackenzie establishes first and foremost that it's a love that true; not that sort of easy infatuation where you're completely blind to the hidden depths of a person. The love in "You" in bold but understanding and Pearl and the Beard ride that wave pretty agilely keeping up with the sheer insistence of the zealous lyrics with rapid pacing and grand swelling choruses. "You" is the perfect preview of Beast because it's bound to stay in your ears until the trio see fit to let their next track free and luckily for both them and us - it's a damn good to keep us company.

Pitstop: Pearl and the Beard

Despite their association with some of my other favorite bands Lucius and You Won't, it has taken me an astonishing amount of time to get to know Brooklyn trio Pearl and the Beard. It wasn't until seeing them live for the first time at The Wild Honey Pie's Summer Camp that I really fell for the band hook line and sinker. 

Pearl and the Beard combine many of the wonderfully little elements I absolutely adore: diverse instrumentation (guitar, drums, cello), incredible vocal prowess with goosebump-inducing harmonies, smart and engaging lyricism; the list is pretty much endless. There's also the band's ability to mix traditional folk, infectious ear-catching pop, and utilize their string player in a way that's more than just ornamental.



Featuring everything from sentimental ballads and fiery love songs, Pearl and the Beard are the kind of band that let their personalities shine through their music. Clearly enjoying what they're creating and creating it together, they allow their songs to be fun and occasionally humorous when they call for it while also being able to deliver serious folk epics ("Devil's Head Down") or scorching rock jams ("You"). They're a band with seemingly limitless potential that are only getting better at their already rather stellar songcraft.