Fully Beat, by Aluminum

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Fully Beat

by Aluminum

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
- Limited edition of 549
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- Full-color inner art sleeve
- Pale Blue colored vinyl

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Includes unlimited streaming of Fully Beat via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

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edition of 549 9 remaining

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1.	Smile 03:27	lyrics	buy track
Share a space with Cold embrace We love to see you Smile Take a turn with Half a heart While showing off Your style It’s a perfect place For a perfect face Shimmered and glistening Can’t wait for what you say When no one else is listening It’s your smile that turns me over It’s your smile that turns me over It’s your smile that turns me over It’s your smile that turns me ‘Round Tear apart Right from the start We love to see you cracking Dig inside And find your pride To show what you Are lacking We want to see you Want to be you Steal that smile Can’t wait for you to slip And turn right back the dial
2.	Always Here, Never There 03:32	lyrics	buy track
With a distant heart Drift away and fall apart It’s always here You’re never there Such lonely eyes It should come as no surprise It’s always here You’re never there Past the neon sign Another trip, the daily grind It’s always here Your never there from a dizzy height Look away it’s far to bright It’s always here You’re never there Look away it’s all around you Look away she says Oo Oo Oo Oo
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 04:12	lyrics	buy track
New growth Mumbled nonsense To welcome Timber Of their family Unclenching My jaw While she Quietly Paints humming Trying Not to Worry Feel flimsy Haha Haha ha Haha Haha ha Reaching Through new Earth some Can't hurt me Brutal Glimpses When their Eyes meet mine Haha Haha ha Haha Haha ha Haha Haha ha
5.	Pulp 03:31	lyrics	buy track
Practice stillness Seems so painless As i work myself To a pulp Evolving or we Kneel before Some other distraction Somewhere to go (somewhere to go) Somewhere to go (somewhere to go) Somewhere to go (somewhere to go) Somewhere to go (somewhere to go) I can't hold your head now I'm supporting my own Trying tasks will pile up A smile to bottle it all up Nowhere to go (nowhere to go) Nowhere to go (nowhere to go) Nowhere to go (nowhere to go) Nowhere to go (nowhere to go)
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 03:43 video	lyrics	buy track
All show to the small crowd Only to keep me close When you want me around I'd give you everything To join me The lacquers peeling I see you plainly Eternal child Stay where it's polite A comfort that's made up Of something other than life They'd give you everything To pretend their free Just a walk around Nothing is changing A dimming light Would've been nice Something honest Maybe a courteous divide I’d give you everything Despite myself Of old And some more rounds Of poor spent time To never learn Lost In something In something Jokes on me Lost In something In something
8.	Call An Angel 02:54 video	lyrics	buy track
Pulling diamonds from your Head Form an answer from Regrets Turn your heart to stone and back again Well, I was dancing in your hand There’s a ways to go And back again Oooo Call an angel Showing symptoms of respect Find a me I’ve never met Try to find my way and back again Change the voice that’s in my head There’s a way to go And back again Oooo Call an angel
9.	Birds Flew Here 03:04	info	buy track
10.	Upside Down 03:24	lyrics	buy track
Steady on the ground Spinning upside down Means that much to you Doesn’t mean that much to me Means that much to you Heavy eyes, patiently Staring at the clouds Picture secret sounds Tell me what you see Even if it isn’t real Tell me what you see It’s as if we’re meant to be here Slipping deep inside Sharing simple lies Tell me everything That you ever thought you’d be Tell me everything Heavy eyes patently near Show me what you see Even if it isn’t real Show me what you see It’s as if we’re meant to be here

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

released 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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about

Aluminum San Francisco, California

7.18
OAKLAND
STORK CLUB

7.19
LA - PERMANENT
RECORDS ROADHOUSE

7.20
VENTURA
THE SHOWROOM

7.25
PORTLAND
SIX BELOW MIDNIGHT

7.26
VANCOUVER
RED GATE

7.27
OLYMPIA
THE CRYPT

7.28
SEATTLE
BLACK LODGE ... more

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shows

Nov 17

Rickshaw Stop

San Francisco, CA

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