Hollywood hard rock group Beat the Drag is set to release its debut album, “What’s Your Damage?” on April 28th.
Eschewing the need to follow trends just to make it big, the members of Beat the Drag would rather play what they want. That just happens to be rock and roll the way it once was: Power chords, flashy leads, sing-a-long choruses and whine-free lyrics—basically the antithesis of popular music.
Following the release of last year’s debut EP, Beat the Drag spent the back half of 2014 crafting their debut album. Recorded in their hometown of Hollywood, the songs reflect the high-energy-yet-laid-back California attitude in all its sunburned glory. It will be available wherever digital music is sold, and even on limited cd (with a bonus track) for the old-school crowd.
It’s not about reinventing the wheel… there’s certainly no point in fixing what’s not broken. Beat the Drag’s individuality comes from pulling all facets of rock and rolling them together. From the rifftastic heaviness of Fu Manchu, to the Seventies worship of the Hellacopters; from the NWOBHM stylings of Def Leppard’s “High n’ Dry” to the punk sleaze of Backyard Babies, it’s all fair game.
The album’s debut single, “Mistakes Were Made,” is already making its way around the world, and was recently featured on the Wall Rock Radio UK’s Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show.
With songs about breakups, laziness, California and groupies, there’s not a trace of teenage angst or vicious politicizing. This is music for cruising down the highway with a girl (or guy) on your arm, top down; palm trees and endless oceans all around.
So while the days of rock and rollers filling stadiums have been relegated to bands collecting Social Security, it’s nice to know that someone is willing to carry on the legacy.
For more info, visit beatthedrag.com, facebook.com/beatthedrag and beatthedrag.bandcamp.com
