Dee Rangers - Pretty Ugly Beat (White Jazz)
The members of this Swedish band have been producing infectious beat music in one form another since the mid-eighties. Featuring several former members of the Maryland Cookies, the guys decided to dedicate themselves to nothing but 60s inspired punk sounds in 1997. With a string of singles on labels such as Estrus and a recent debut long player on White Jazz, the Dee Rangers have by their own admission always struggled to put "that sound" on wax. However, in January they made a long anticipated trip to London and holed-up in Toe Rag Studio for a week. The result is a punchy thirty plus minutes of beat-punk that features inspired guest appearances from Parsley Lion on keyboards and Don Craine on backing vocals/maracas. Pretty Ugly Beat kick-starts with the vengeful Won't Be Back Again and is followed by Come On (I'm A P.U.B.) complete with frantic harp blowing and lacerating guitar licks. Other highlights include Musta Petteri - a twanging intro based on a Finnish traditional tune, Everything I've Got To Give - a new arrangement of a familiar song with "Dee Sect" appeal, and the closing I'm Lost, a nasty slab of brooding Eurobeat if ever there was one. On this evidence the Dee Rangers need to forget the message of the opening track and book a return trip to London as soon as possible. In the meantime, look out for an ep on Munster that contains four bonus tracks from the Toe Rag sessions.