BEAT HAPPENING
WE ARE BEAT HAPPENING
DOMINO
Loosely fitting into the C86 style, Washington trio Beat Happening were friends with The Pastels and The Vaselines, as well as regular unlikely touring partners with Fugazi. Beck is a fan, while Heather Lewis’ smash-and-grab drumming saw them co-opted by the Riot Grrrl scene. It’s hard not to wish Lewis had been more integral to their sound: her spacey vocals, pitched somewhere between Elizabeth Fraser and Harriet Wheeler, are a welcome counterpoint to main singer Calvin Johnson’s presence. Similar to Daniel Johnston, to newcomers Johnson’s vocals will be viewed as either charmingly unaffected or simply out-of-tune. Lewis is a frequent vocalist on their 1985 self-titled debut double album but, by third LP Black Candy, she only sings on the bittersweet title track.