Hometown: Oakland, CA
Album: Here is the Truth and Killing Time, out now via Urban Scandal Records
RIYL: Impatience. Short Songs. The Truth.
Ever since my high school best friend Jim pushed Dream Theater on me as an impressionable teenager, I’ve had an appreciation of long-form songwriting. Not jam band, jazz improv, or neo-classical pomp, mind you. If you can pack wonderful ideas into a six-plus-minute jam, I will try to understand you. That said, my first love is and always has been musical efficiency. Ever since I discovered MxPx and Green Day at a local record shop, I have heart eyes for any artist that understands how to hook me and leave me wanting more in three minutes or less.
The best music is like the opposite of lovemaking—the quicker the better. Cough Drop Acid understand this musical rule so well, showcasing it on two of the most clearly articulated bops of the year. Featuring a variety of sounds—grunge, dream pop, indie rock—both tunes get in, get out, and rule so hard.
Vocalist and guitarist Stephen Beebout shares the band’s central ethos and how it came to be:
“I tend to write shorter songs. I think that comes from a mixture of growing up in the DIY punk scene and also not being a fan of overworking an idea. Kurt Cobain and Billie Joe Armstrong’s writing styles really influenced me at an early age, and I think it’s stuck throughout my evolution as a songwriter.
“I always prefer to want more out of art rather than feeling bored from overindulgence. That’s a deep-rooted punk thing, huh? Broad strokes rather than intricate details. I want the person experiencing it to have room for themselves within the music. I also run my own record label, Urban Scandal Records, and work at Fat Wreck Chords, so I’m around music all day, and my attention span is pretty short. I’ve heard a lot of stuff. My goal for every song is to get the point across; allow the song to breathe, and keep it interesting throughout. Get in; get out; move on. I’m not short of ideas, just patience.”
Photo courtesy of Jamie Cooney
