Song of the Day: Menace Beach - Fortune Teller

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Morning Show with John Richards, is “Fortune Teller” by Menace Beach from the forthcoming album Ratworld on Memphis Industries.

Menace Beach - Fortune Teller (MP3)

Tapping into early '90s lo-fi, garage, and shoegaze influences, Menace Beach is the project of a group of Leeds musicians led by Ryan Needham and Liza Violet. Named for a 1990 Nintendo game, the former two musicians formed Menace Beach in 2012, bringing in Sky Larkin's Nestor Matthews, You Animals' Matt Spalding, and Hookworms' MJ onboard later on to fill out the duo's songs and live performances. A series of small-scale releases throughout 2012 and 2013 brought the band to the attention of Memphis Industries, who signed the band for their debut album, Ratworld, which will see release in January 2015. Wrapped in a layer of thick, gauzy haze, "Fortune Teller" shines a spotlight on the band's ability to channel all of that fuzz into a melodic tidal wave. A winding, "What You Want"-esque melody floats over a crunchy rhythm section at a midtempo pace as Violet and Needham's vocals intertwine into something alluringly nebulous. For every ounce of force in the band's heavy textural assault, there's two more of brilliant, resounding melody, and "Fortune Teller" shows that Menace Beach are just as adept at combining the two approaches as they are using them singularly.

Menace Beach will release Ratworld on January 27th and are heading out on a brief UK tour this month to promote it. If they announce any further tour dates, those will be on their website and Facebook page. For now, watch the band play "Fortune Teller" live earlier this year.