Ed Schrader’s Music Beat returned to their second home of Rhode Island this past Thursday to play a show in support of their most recent album, the excellent Riddles. Though hailing from Baltimore, the duo of Schrader and bassist Devlin Rice have a clear fondness for the Ocean State, with Rice having lived here for years at a time, and Providence-based Load Records releasing the group’s first album as a duo, 2012′s Jazz Mind. Listening to that record now, you might be surprised, at least at first blush, that Riddles is the product of the same band; the difference is predominately a result of the involvement of fellow Baltimore native Dan Deacon, who produced Riddles, which is laden with his characteristically gorgeous keyboards and synths.
Though Jazz Mind was predominately formed by loud sounds, with Schrader screaming in a distortion-infused, nasal tone over naught more than a tom drum and Rice’s bass, Ed has always flirted with more traditional songwriting as well. That album’s ‘My Mind is Broken by the Sound’, and 2014′s ‘Pink Moons’ (from Party Jail), both feature bouncy, clean basslines that foreshadow tracks like ‘Seagull’ from this most recent record, all of which feature Schrader singing in his deep, equally-distinctive baritone.
While Deacon’s identity is very strongly pronounced on Riddles, it is worth mentioning that this meeting of the minds hasn’t diminished the Beat’s own style. Even in the title track, which is the most drenched in the glossy pianos that echo Deacon tracks like ‘Learning to Relax’, Rice’s bass cuts through and adds an imposing weight to the sound. The Beat’s old selves resurge almost completely in other places, with ‘Rust’, a track about Knoxville, TN, featuring the classic distorted screams of the band’s earlier work. It’s genuinely hard to think of an album that better fits the definition of “best of both worlds”.
The band took the stage just before 11 inside the small gallery that doubles as AS220′s performance space on Empire St. in Providence. The Beat are still touring as a duo, and Schrader no longer has the tom drum that he once played live (often shirtless, including the time I first encountered the band at 2016′s Foo Fest, also at AS220); I always worry about live music losing its bite when much of the sound is played from tape, but with Rice’s bass loud in the mix both on the record and in the live performance, the music retained all its fortitude, and sans drum, Schrader was free to be his theatrical self.
I had actually spoken to Schrader earlier in the evening, and was surprised to learn that he actually took some voice lessons in the four years leading up to Riddles. I suppose I ascribe a sense of mysticism to artists, not really being one myself, and feel as if their work just pours out fully-formed, especially those with distinctive sets of vocal cords, so it was interesting to hear Schrader, talk about having to work on his style for this record. One can’t argue with the results, however, with his live vocal being just as varied and engaging as that of the record.
The night began with ‘Dunce’, the lead single from the new record, and Schrader, bathed in red light, danced around the tiny stage, at times leaning into the crowd on the mic stand while almost whispering the song’s repeated hook, “Dunce can’t get a leg up...” The band played Riddles in its entirety over the course of the night, with the exception of the instrumental ‘Humbucker Blues.’ As such, ‘Seagull’ was up second, bookended by the aforementioned bouncy bass, but containing an explosive, chanted midsection full of violent synth noise. Thus followed the title track, which really set the whole room dancing, as many a Dan Deacon instrumental has been known to do - the Beat have gone from being a headbanger’s delight to militantly danceable in the span of one release.
Other highlights of the night were ‘Dizzy Devil’, a non-stop propulsive track whose five minutes flew by in the blink of an eye as Schrader alternated between chanting, “Devil!”, howling backing vocals, and singing verses which (I think) contained a passing reference to Radiohead’s ‘The Bends’; and ‘Rust’, which saw Schrader screaming onstage, his eyes gone wild, arm bent into a right angle as he postured before the crowd. The record also contains a number of truly touching tribute songs, which are even more affecting in their sparse nature when played live. One such cut is ‘Wave to the Water’, dedicated to Schrader’s step-father, and then there’s ‘Tom’, which recounts fond memories of David Bowie, full of lush piano and strings that likely would’ve made the Starman himself proud.
Schrader was exceptionally gracious throughout the night, heartily thanking the the opening band, Load Records, and the audience as well. From my brief time speaking with him, it was abundantly clear that Ed is a truly good-natured human being, on top of being an excellent musician whose talent can stand on its own, or just as easily embolden any other type of sound. As of my writing this, his pinned Tweet reads, “Some nights it doesn't feel like I'm a big twelve year old floundering through life“ - and I hope this Thursday at AS220 was one of those nights.
