Beast is a Beauty

Beast, while imposingly threatening sounding, isn't so much so when you get past the bees, unless of course you're allergic to bees, in which case you might ask someone else to open up the CD for you. The group is a duo, pictured above, which includes Jean-Phi Goncalves and Betty Bonifassi (who appeared on the soundtrack for The Triplets of Belleville), both originally from France but now living in Montreal. Both came from pevious projects, but upon meeting up, the pair churned out the album's opening track, Devil, in their very first session together. At which point, their collaboration seemed inevitable.

The album broods with a dark intensity that Betty has dubbed "trip rock," a title which makes sense after having listened to their music. You'll experience shades of Tricky here, but Beast doesn't lurk quiet as deep as he has in his music. It still throbs with dark insistance though that brims with electro, rock, jazz, and soul influences. Both members of the band provide vocals over the course of the album, with Betty sounding very much like a sharper modern day Shirley Bassey and Jean-Phil offering creepy spoken word sections (listen to Dark Eyes below to see what I mean). The two work together quite well.

Beast - Mr. Hurricane : Beast

Beast -Dark Eyes : Beast

Visit their website, their label Verve Forecast, and become their friend on MySpace.

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Shirley Bassey - Big Spender : Goldsinger: The Best Of Shirley Bassey