Beechwood
Generating a sound and feel at once stoned, cocky, and aggressive, Beechwood are a band that literally came from the New York streets. To take the members at their word, they were effectively homeless when they dropped their first nationally distributed album, and flirted with lives outside the law while struggling to get the band off the ground. Beechwood first made a name for themselves playing clubs and D.I.Y. spaces in New York, honing their brand of murky but muscular, streetwise rock & roll that embraces the sneering freedom of punk rock while adding potent elements of glam, psychedelia, and noise rock, creating a mind-expanding sonic gumbo. Beechwood dropped their no-frills debut album, Trash Glamour, in 2014, but it was with 2018's Songs from the Land of Nod that they began attracting a significant audience outside New York City, and 2022's Sleep Without Dreaming saw them gaining greater focus and strength with an overhauled lineup.
Beechwood were formed by guitarist and vocalist Gordon Lawrence and drummer and vocalist Isa Tineo. The two first met when they were 16 years old, bonding over their shared love of skateboarding. Lawrence got his first guitar when he was 11, and after learning a few chords found he could play along with Ramones records. As for Tineo, his father was a drummer, so he grew up around percussion gear, and discovered as a teen that playing drums was a good way to deal with aggression. Lawrence and Tineo decided to pool their ideas about rock & roll, and with the addition of bassist Sid Simons, they had a band, and they adopted the name Beechwood from the street were Lawrence lived as a kid.
Beechwood made their debut playing a St. Patrick's Day show opening for Murphy's Law, and while they didn't have much in common with the headliners, they went over well and were on their way. In 2014, Beechwood released an independent album, Trash Glamour, and their live work helped them earn a reputation in New York City. Beechwood also became a cause célèbre in their hometown when an outdoor show staged by the group in June 2017 was broken up by police in an incident that was covered extensively by the New York press. Videos of the performance indicated the band had not acted improperly.
In 2017, Beechwood struck a deal with the long-running indie label Alive Naturalsound, and in January 2018 they brought out the group's second album, Songs from the Land of Nod. Just five months later, the trio was back with a tougher and more energetic third album, Inside the Flesh Hotel. Early the next year, Alive reissued the band's hard-to-find 2014 debut, which had primarily been available as a cassette. The band went through personnel shakeups, as Isa Tineo dropped out of the group. After his departure, Sid Simons moved from bass to guitar, and they recruited a new rhythm section, bassist Jensen Gore and drummer Russell Yusuf. This edition of Beechwood recorded 2022's Sleep Without Dreaming, an especially strong and well-focused effort.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Sleep Without Dreaming
Punk / New Wave - Released by Sub Rosa Records on 28 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Songs from the Land of Nod
Pop - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 26 Jan 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Inside the Flesh Hotel
Pop - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 7 Jun 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Front Page News
Rock - Released by Sub Rosa Records on 29 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Know It's Not Right
Rock - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 11 Jul 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Don't Wanna Be the One You Love
Pop - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 26 Oct 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Our Love Was Worth the Heartbreak
Pop - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 30 May 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Pop - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 21 Dec 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heroin Honey
Rock - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 24 Nov 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ain't Gonna Last All Night
Pop - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 10 Jan 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Bigot in My Bedroom
Pop - Released by Alive Naturalsound on 1 May 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Gently Towards The Light
Rock - Released by Sub Rosa Records on 3 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It's Not Wrong / Uptown Daughter
Alternative & Indie - Released by Lefse Records on 16 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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