SOTD #156 // We Three And The Death Rattle: 'Double Or Quits'

Thinking about it, most modern bassless bands race to the finish slathering their songs in noise and distortion as they go. Nothing wrong with that per se, but something we consequently haven’t heard that much of recently is slow burning road movie malevolence from the minimal guitar-drum palette. Step forward, then, We Three And The Death Rattle – from Leicester, formed from the ashes of Mark Lamarr favourites The Dirty Backbeats, playing their fourth ever gig tonight – harbouring a gritted, darkly bluesy fog that takes up the spiritual baton from Royal Trux and Boss Hog through to The Gun Club and PJ Harvey.

On ‘Double Or Quits’, they’re driven by lurking voodoo drums and spooked by the ghosts of Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan’s ill fated duets, somewhere out in an imagined American dusty midwest setting where the night closes in fast and something wicked this way comes. They know when to let go with a coruscating guitar solo-of-sorts too. An album is recorded and awaiting label interest.