Fully Beat, by Aluminum

Behind My Mouth (Official Video)

Fully Beat

by Aluminum

supported by

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
- Limited edition of 549
- Available at Bandcamp, tours & local indie retail
- Full-color inner art sleeve
- Pale Blue colored vinyl

NON-US CUSTOMERS: felte.lnk.to/aluminum (go here and we will continue to add non-US stores for better shipping rates as we receive them or do a web search for shops in your respective country)

Includes digital pre-order of Fully Beat. You get 2 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.

shipping out on or around May 24, 2024

edition of 549 48 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$24 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Pre-order of Fully Beat. You get 2 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.

Purchasable with gift card

releases May 24, 2024

$12 USD or more

1.	Smile
2.	Always Here, Never There
3.	Behind My Mouth 03:50 video	lyrics	buy track
Truly, do you feel real Cutting coattails behind my mouth Supercilious, kick your feet up Riding corners, convey a smile Slightly altered, not how you spun it Do you ever see behind my mouth Do you ever see behind my mouth Do you ever see behind my mouth Buckled under, unlikely pleasure Do you ever see behind my mouth Let it hover, don't consume it do You ever see behind my mouth No i didn't stand a chance Do you ever see behind my mouth Do you ever see behind my mouth Do you ever see behind my mouth No i didn't stand a chance Do you ever see behind my mouth Do you ever see behind my mouth Do you ever see behind my mouth Do you ever see behind my mouth
4.	HaHa
5.	Pulp
6.	Beat 04:37	lyrics	buy track
What you Do to me You know you see right Through me And if I worked harder You think I’d be That much farther If I’m All to blame You’d think I’d feel A little ashamed I got that Nothing desire Everything gets higher and higher What you do to me I really think you’re Screwing me Tell me All my problems And I’ll bet you I can’t solve them Turn from Red to green Just like you see in the Magazines I got that Nothing desire Everything burns brighter and brighter
7.	Everything
8.	Call An Angel
9.	Birds Flew Here
10.	Upside Down

about

The relatively short life of San Francisco’s Aluminum has so far yielded a single (Spinning Backwards, 2020) and an EP (Windowpane, 2022), but their debut LP, Fully Beat, overflows with tenured confidence and a singular style that deftly comprises shoegaze, big beat, and jangle pop. With influences ranging from Orbital, to Wipers, to The Avalanches and Sly and the Family Stone, theirs is a multifaceted take on established forms, fed through fuzz and led by honeyed, dual vocal harmonies from Bay Area post-punk veterans Marc Leyda (of Wild Moth) and Ryann Gonsalves (of Torrey).

“Smile” begins with deceptive sparseness, adding neon swirls of stacked tremolo over a mesmerizing lyrical refrain, and hinting at the dynamism to come with understated grace and grit. “Always Here, Never There” is Fully Beat’s first pure hit of melodic pop: its liquid bass groove winds beneath a melancholy-sweet synth hook and Leyda’s plaintive vocals, while drummer Chris Natividad’s deep, pillowy snare and propulsive style maintain a driving pace.

Lead single, “Behind My Mouth”, shifts gears into a big beat shuffle and howl of overdriven guitars, which relent to Gonsalves’ rolling bassline and playful, snarky vocal. Composed across several weeks of experimentation, it is a prime iteration of Aluminum’s meticulous world of sound, which nevertheless carries an air of wry nonchalance. Asking, “Do you ever see behind my mouth?”, Gonsalves notes that the song “comes from a place of wanting to be understood authentically, and to communicate intentionally.”

This approach speaks to the album’s broader theme of exhaustion amid the demands of the modern grind: working unfulfilling jobs to pay exorbitant rent, feeling society break at the seams, and trying to maintain a meaningful personal life with the remaining scraps of morale. The response, then, must be to find joy. These songs were crafted over a half-dozen months in basements and practice spaces, creating an abundance of authentic passion and catharsis that’s as nostalgic and comforting as a cherished, tattered band t-shirt.

“HaHa” glides on a stripped-back arrangement of hallucinogenic, filtered guitar and hand percussion, while the foreground belongs to Gonsalves’ wistful, taut vocal interplay, reminiscent of early Veruca Salt. “Pulp” follows with a roaring eruption, highlighting the band’s ability to simply rip, its blistering rush like a shriek across the sky that leaves a smoking crater under guitarist Austin Montanari’s stratified storm.

Second single, “Beat”, brings a steady, mid-tempo pulse that nods to Happy Mondays, with a rhythm section and hazy guitars that blend beautifully into lo-fi bliss under the hypnotic, counterpoint coo of both singers. The shimmering “Everything” pairs long-tail strums and an exuberant pace with complex, yet beautifully breezy, vocal arrangements. It marks the summit of Fully Beat’s pop tendencies: a tight performance smeared with lush effects, rounded out by diligent mixing that still allows a buoyant haze.

“Call An Angel” ushers in the final act with a contrast of clattering drums, wobbling guitars and narcotic vocal delivery. The swell of a string section counters its experimental methods, offering a sense of resolute longing, and embodying the band’s dedication to creating different energies within a consistent atmosphere.

The closer, “Upside Down”, is a full-throttle blare of joyous release – “a straight-up love song,” according to Leyda. The deliberate choice to end it with a gradual fade, rather than a dramatic climax, smartly suggests the ambivalence of acceptance – perhaps fitting, when considering the immensity of the album’s subject matter. It also hints that there is much more to be said, and as such a rich and compelling debut, Fully Beat shows that Aluminum are only getting started.

credits

releases May 24, 2024

℗ + © 2024 felte
Recorded & Mixed by Marc Leyda
Stereophonic Mastering by Timothy Stollenwerk
Photographs on artwork by Marc Leyda
Artwork Design by Austin Montanari

Band Members::
Marc Leyda - vocals, guitar, sampler
Ryann Gonsalves - vocals, bass
Austin Montanari - guitar
Chris Natividad - drums

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Aluminum San Francisco, California

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