S.B.F. "Same Beat Forever" LP ( SBF )
Side A: Tarantula Hawk, Funny Paper, Play To Win, Rock To The Head
Side B: Hole, Mortician Bible, Devil’s Monocle, Honeycomb
S.B.F. are a twitching Los Angeles duo made up of Cruz Somers (recognizable via singles under his own name as well as SOCIALITES) and Ray Schmidt (of Neck Chop’s very own RACE CAR), two insular and prolific punks with penchants for punky home-recorded noize. After joining forces in 2016, S.B.F. immediately launched their stun offensive via singles on Drunken Sailor and Goodbye Boozy, surfing praise from the jump. Their recognizable racket --- tough punk with electronic twists and stabs --- sounds a tad harsher than most of their counterparts, with one member supplying a hook while the other drags it across concrete.
With smart and jarring sleights of hand, S.B.F.’s approach combats the very notion that synthetic instrumentation commands electro and/or synth punk classifications. Though their sound is rightfully centered on programmed drumbeats, it’s the dual-guitar punk acrobatics that the duo seems infinitely more concerned with, with guitars alternating between buzz and bludgeon in menacing fashion. This tilt in formula makes S.B.F.’s sound panicked, darkly cinematic and very punk…Techno toys be damned.
This one’s for all the late-nite droolers out there --- those that wake the neighbors on weeknights and never ever apologize for it.
Stiff Buddies Flailing.
Synth Bro Foundation.
Stoned Bleeping Friends.
Screamers Biggest Fans.
SAME BEAT FOREVER.
Neck Chop quite proudly presents S.B.F.’s debut album to close out 2018.
- Mitch Cardwell
