Jason Cunningham / The Recorder

Beep Beep offered the intense, gripping and mostly satisfying Business Casual in 2004, diversifying Saddle Creek’s roaster with their intelligent, occasionally pornographic lyrics, and frantic experimental garage rock compositions. 

In 2009’s Enchanted Islands we see their new face: soft, open eyed and still just as mentally deranged. The noticeable change in their approach, their first album a heavy mash of soul, electronic and sex metal; their own brand of spaz rock, is now smoothed down and refined into a truly unique style that only Beep Beep themselves can adequately accomplish. 

In a sense, they’re one of the few bands unbound by that nasty word in the indie-rock world: genre. Without being confined by the clichés plaguing the independent music scene, cheap knockoffs of Conor Oberst, trashy punk-basement rock and sleepy bands like Grizzly Bear, Beep Beep gives listeners a musical experience that’ll leave them wanting to listen to Enchanted Islands over and over again. 

The album’s opening track “I See You!” sounds as if it should be played out of an old Gipsy wagon housing an evil mystic. It creeps up your spine, easing you into the second track, “Mermaid Struggle”, with an erie feeling in your gut. The album carries you, pulling you up and down on a fantastic adventure.

Co-frontmen Eric Bemberger and Chris Hughes sound great together on this album. Bemberger’s smooth voice with Hughes’ angelic and occasionally frightening falsetto make the album as great as it is.

It’s a serious shame Hughes left the band. I couldn’t imagine Beep Beep’s live performances being as good without him.

Nonetheless, Enchanted Islands is a confounding collection of songs waiting to be explored, easily one of 2009’s strongest new releases thus far.