THE STORY
El Ángel Exterminador: the new album by The Beige
Announcing El Ángel Exterminador, the second independent release by The Beige. The Vancouver pop/jazz quintet's new recording charts a journey through some surreal, atmospheric landscapes, offering glimpses of madness, hunger, love and death along the way. With El Ángel Exterminador, The Beige presents the great Canadian feel-not-so-good album. »
PRESS: reviews etc.
El Ángel Exterminador
Vancouver Province: "El Ángel Exterminador" by Stuart Derdeyn
"Album 2 from this pop/jazz quintet is moody, atmospheric, orchestral and, well, depressing. But it's also swinging, marching and altogether a joy to listen to. Songwriter Rick Maddocks knows how to craft a tasty dirge."
Vancouver Courier: "Atmospheric band turns the brown upside down" by Michael Kissinger
"A spooky dust storm of Latin-tinged drinking songs, work songs, love songs and death songs that would fit nicely on the record shelf alongside Calexico and Howe Gelb...There are plenty of inspired moments fuelling The Beige music machine." »
The Skinny Magazine: by Nathan Stafford
"El Ángel Exterminador is a CD I could listen to all day long...If you are looking for some original music that's anything but boring, with intense imagery, theatric or cinematic compositional style, and a wide range of elements, this album will not disappoint (5/5)" »
Georgia Straight Music Notes: by Adrian Mack
"The Beige goes for a haunted vibe at St. Paul's Anglican Church." »
Discorder: by Slavko Bucifal
"Dark, mysterious, beautiful, rich and interesting. The Vancouver-based quintet combines poetry with an eclectic mix of atmospheric ambiance, alt-country and funk-infused jazz...worth a listen for those who like to push the boundaries of their musical collections."»
TV Week: Greg Potter
"Incredibly atmospheric fare from this Vancouver quintet that employs eclectic instrumentation (double bass, dobro, lap steel, piano, accordion, bizarre-field recording samples, menacing percussion) to concoct a subtle mixture of blurred and bluesy jazz-pop. Vocalist/songwriter/author Rick Maddocks' lyrics are pure poetry that bend and shape to fit the angular rhythms. A truly original sound. 4/5"
Vancouver Province: by Tom Harrison
"CD of the week. If the band's debut was a little like its namesake - a kind of pastel - this sequel is more colourful. At least it's more rhythmically diverse, which is indicative of a band feeling more confident as it has developed. With an elegant Mexican flavour in the song "Este Pais" adding to an exotic mix of oom pahs and keyboard swirls, El Angel Exterminador can be as warmly languid as it is sometimes unsettling."
Montreal Mirror: by Erik Leijon
"Somewhere, David Lynch is plotting a new film set entirely in a run-down Death Valley chapel ordained by circus freaks."
01
Georgia Straight: "The Beige is Anything but Bland" by Ken Eisner
"The self-produced session, mixed and mastered by Wood, is a gorgeously spacious thing. 'Mirror', 'Hammer in a Bell' and the romantically swooning 'One for Me' are as melodic and lyrically striking as Wilco at its most incisive..." »
Vancouver Sun: "The Beige Really Makes You Pay Attention" by Marke Andrews
"The Beige is a new musical force in Vancouver..." »
Americana UK: "The Beige: Colour Me Impressed" by David Cowling
"A record that fuses popular and experimental forms into a coherent whole is a rare thing, and this is a record of rare beauty." »
Vue Weekly: "The Beige 01" by Eden Munro
"What to do with the Beige? The Vancouver quintet's songs defy easy categorization. They're certainly too complex and jazzy to be considered pop, although songwriter Rick Maddocks has a serious knack for coaxing memorable melodies out of the near cacophony that the music occasionally swirls through." »
Indieville.com: "The Beige 01" by Matt Shimmer
"The Beige's wonderfully designed CD is home to a collection of textured, rootsy folk-pop music heavy on the ambient atmosphere...a brilliant level of depth to the recording...Ladies and gents, meet your new favourite atmospheric roots-pop band." »
This Magazine: "the beige 01 ,the beige" by Christine Davidson
"From the opening track of the beige's first release, appropriately labelled 01, it's apparent that this Vancouver quintet is no gang of inexperienced players..." »
Vancouver Courier: "The Beige Arrive" by Shawn Conner
"Happily, the Beige's eight-song debut CD strikes just the right balance between atmospheric improvisation and linear song structure." »
Vancouver Province: "The Beige 01" by Tom Harrison
"Like the name, The Beige is low key. The five-piece has stripped back to an ambient music with soulful vocals on top but not necessarily out front..." »
The Nerve Magazine: "The Beige 01" by Devon Cody
"The Beige have managed to work their mellowing magic on me. I'm finding it very difficult to shit all over them." »
FAQs
Why El Ángel Exterminador?
The "title track" on the album is "The Exterminating Angel", a spacious, surreal ballad. It was partly inspired by Luis Bunuel's classic film of the same name which, in the original Spanish, is called El Ángel Exterminador. The Spanish title embodies a sense of mystery and quiet menace that reflects The Beige's musical excavations on this album. Besides, Exterminador is such a cool word. »
BAND MEMBERS
Andrew Arida: piano, organ, accordion
Geoff Gilliard: drums
Mark Haney: double bass
Rick Maddocks: vocals, guitars, miscellany
Jon Wood: vocals, guitars, miscellany