Equal parts Brian Wilson and Marc Bolan, Dayton, Ohio’s Motel Beds proclaim, “we will erase your mind” on the ramshackle anthem “Live City”. Following a 36-month hiatus, the self-proclaimed “bastard creatures of night” return with Mind Glitter, a canny collection of guitar hooks, harmonies and elongated nouns.
Balancing subtlety and swagger, Motel Beds tread lightly on the glistening “Queens for the Summer”, a euphonic fugue with crosshatched lyrics à la the Monkees’ “Zilch”, and the acoustic “We’ve Killed More for Less”, a hushed love letter filled with ellipses. Glamming it up on the title track, the band toes the waters of Britpop with “4 AM” before adding new dents to the aluminum garage door on “Too Long”. For those unfamiliar with the Motel Beds, the punchy “A.O.O.” serves as a four-minute primer to the band’s past.
Inching ever closer to perfecting their brand of mid-fi garage rock, the sweet and sweaty Motel Beds have released their best album to date. Failing at the threat of “Live City”, the Motel Beds and Mind Glitter will steal your ears.