Although I haven’t been aware of BeaVoys‘ music for very long, something has already jumped out of the music quite clearly, at least in my mind. This may be a gross generalisation, but “Compatibility”, like much of what follows this, the opening track of his new EP, Life Beyond The Fence, has a joyous, late Beatles sound about it. More specifically, an Abbey Road, Lennon-esque vibe… which was generally the best part of The Fab Four’s sonic canon.
But of course, it is never as clear cut as that, and to this end, “Compatibility” is shot through with some West Coast-infused psychedelic guitar lines, slightly arabesque and vaguely oriental, not to mention the odd touch of bluesy, Doorsian trippiness.
But, as always, this is less about the past and more about where things go next. And if I have overplayed the Beatles/60’s connotations, “Compatibility” is less about what that scene sounded like then and more about what that sound might sound like if it was just getting started today.
So, in summary – if you like the idea of Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek jamming with The Beatles in a way that suggests they are yet to break out onto the grassroots scene as the first quarter of the 21st Century is playing out its last cycle…and you like the idea of a song whose philosophical lyrics remind us that for every positive there is a negative, that one thing can only exist as defined by its antithesis, or as Mr Newton kindly informed us, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, then this is undoubtedly for you.
