Nothing to do with the long running soap opera, but when you listen to their edgy and blistering, hauntingly dystopian yet defiantly hopeful EP Nite Songs, you can’t help but love the bold, Beautiful Dudes who’ve been lighting up the world from Nevada City, CA since their 2016 self-titled debut.
Considering the emotional heft and intensity of these six distortion-filled gems – from the dark, 80’s Brit-rock flavored barnburner “Nothing But the Black” to the scorching dream/nightmare pop jam “The Champion” (so loud and cool you can barely understand a word frontman Tom Bevitori’s singing!) – it seems odd that the band’s promotional material is so heavily slanted towards a discussion of retro-goodies.
But hey, if knowing that the collection is available on limited edition 12” vinyl made of denim and just released a limited-edition skateboard deck and exclusive single with Lurkville Skateboards draws you into the group’s supercharged chaos that fully reflects this off-kilter year, then all hail the swag! Yet hey could quite seriously get by on the musical Molotov cocktails by Art Echternacht on bass, Robbie Landsburg on guitar and Zach Peach on drums.
Ready to rumble behind Bevitori’s hypnotic, sometimes punkish monotone, they take us to the ironic, high octane streets of “Beverly Hills,” remind us on the super aggressive title track that “the revolution is coming” but “We are not afraid, we fear nothing” and fashion their equivalent of a lazy atmospheric ballad on the perfectly titled, malaise filled (but most melodic of the six tunes!) “I Don’t Ever Want To Get Out of Bed.”
While you’re busy pounding your fists, banging your head and enjoying the denim and skateboard stuff, be aware that you’re listening to the result of a true miracle. Bevitori started the band years before their debut, but put the band on hold when he moved to Portland and endured a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, a messy divorce and substance abuse issues, which aggregately almost killed him. Moving back to Nevada City and resurrected Beautiful Dudes was his saving grace – and leads now to the frenetic, unforgettable bliss of Nite Songs.