Stream: Beat Club, ‘Faces’

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Last year, Los Angeles’ Beat Club released the Best Damned Disco-Pop Single a Big Label Didn’t Spend Thousands of Dollars to Shove Down Your Throat. It was titled “Something Better,” and then – in between other jobs and commitments – the band slowly set about making something better. This week, the quartet of Jeff Kite (keyboards/vocals), Jon Pancoast (bass), Anthony Polcino (guitars/vocals) and Joe Seiders (drums) quietly released their new EP, “Faces.” It’s better than 98% of dance music big labels spend thousands of dollars on, but it’s not glossy like their first maxi-single. “We wanted to approach it like a traditional rock band,” Polcino says. “Analog synths are still part of our sound, but we tried to pleasantly destroy it so it didn’t sound so shiny … Anything to sound like a scuzzy band from 1975.” Recorded with and co-produced by Dave Trumfio at Kingsize North in North Hollywood, “Faces” was released digitally via Trumfio’s label PCM Recordings. Beat Club has been an on-and-off proposition since 2012 – among other conflicts, Kite plays in Julian Casablancas’ band – but the foursome did a well-received tour last fall supporting Fitz & the Tantrums and Capital Cities. “Faces” rough-hewn, guitar-fueled fusion of electro and dance-punk ought to elevate Beat Club from part-time status.

||| Stream: “Faces” and “Red & Purple Walls”

||| Live: Beat Club plays the Chinatown Moon Festival on Saturday, Sept. 13.