Bysts is a band I have been following since they started on Bandcamp. I’m not really sure of the band history but they seem to have been on again off again releasing singles here and there. Their First LP Killer On The Road went through several iterations and covers. I have the test pressings and first edition then it seems to have been renamed to Offer Your Throat (at least digitally) so I cant be sure. The first record had the lo-fi aesthetic of band like Firefriend which would probably explain how they found their way over to Little Cloud Records for their second full length. Bysts combines elements of shoegaze, dreampop and a fair amount of JAMC and BRMC to round out their sound. If I had to describe the difference from the first LP I would have to say It’s cleaner. At times reminding me of a band like Seasurfer. There is much better production and mixing here. There are two kinds of tracks on this release. Guitar based and the more electronic pieces. I definitely prefer the guitar oriented pieces that kind of have a sexy, slinky slow paced vibe to them. “Palace” and “Burn Show” particularly close out the record in excellent fashion. “Extra Virgin”, “Breathless” and “Crime” kick of the record with sold driving basslines. “Taken” is more like a sequencer driven electronic dance tune. Much of the middle of the record reminds me of later JAMC records with the heavy use of the synthetic percussion driving the tunes rather than bass or guitar. There is alot to like here. A great thing about this record is that unlike alot of the pandemic era LP’s there is actually an album s worth of music. It’s not an EP packaged as an album. This one should be played loud for proper effect. At times it’s quite a wall shaker.
Released By Little Cloud Records (USA) and Acid Test Records (UK) via Cardinal Fuzz
