Here's a live performance of Beulah's "Night is the Day Turned Inside Out." Take a listen to this clip and know why Beulah became known as "the best band you've never heard" back in the early 2000s.
This video is from the DVD A Good Band is Easy to Kill, which followed Beulah during one of its last tours. The song is the closer for their 2001 release, The Coast is Never Clear, which I highly recommend--standouts from that album are "Hey Brother," "A Good Man is Easy to Kill," and "What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades." They do an excellent job of blending trumpets, flutes and even dulcimers with compelling indie pop. In 2003, the band released Yoko to critical acclaim, and a lot of reviewers said it was their best yet--I highly recommend that one too, and if you're interested in purchasing any of their records, please visit their website or check on iTunes.
Sadly, years on the road and the demands of their growing families ultimately led Beulah to call it quits in 2004. To this day I'm bummed that these guys never became a household name--in a time when mediocrity is allowed to pollute the airwaves, it would be nice for a truly great band to make it big every once in a while. I suppose the decaying major record labels are too risk-averse to pursue anything outside their set formula these days--does anyone really think today's Capitol Records executives would have the foresight to sign the Beatles? No one should be surprised that their business model is going down in flames. Fie on the labels and everything they stand for. There, that's my rant for this post.
Nevertheless, Beulah built (and continues to build) quite a following among small-label music lovers, and lead singer Miles Kurosky is set to release a solo album in March. If you like what you hear of Beulah, be sure to check out his website and keep an eye out for that record. Thanks for reading, and see you next Music Monday.
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