M.A.T.B. electrify on boogie-punk shockwave "SPATZ"
New Orleans saints M.A.T.B. (fka Miranda and the Beat) surge back with a fresh attitude on their latest single, “SPATZ,” a breakneck boogie-punk ripper that redefines their streetwise sensibilities in a cavalcade of mutated keys, jagged guitar, and helter-skelter rhythmic mania.
Opening with ominous keys that warp and warble like flickering candlelight radiating from deep within Lestat’s crypt, “SPATZ” immediately sets an unnerving vibe that taps directly into the fight-or-flight instincts of the most primitive recesses of the human brain. Piercing notes fire off spurts of electric sparks that crackle amidst the skittering percussion, instigating an uncontrollable full-body sensation of involuntary motion, ticking with wild-eyed insistence that balances precipitously on the razor’s edge of a total psychotic meltdown. Snarling guitar chugs deep in the mix as Miranda Zipse makes her entrance in an explosion of unchecked bravado, unleashing line after line of pure, unfiltered confidence and magnetic aggression that threatens annihilation and commands obedience in equal measure.
In video form “SPATZ” lurches to life as an artifact of cursed lo-fi Y2K found footage, accessed illegally off a crusty USB drive scavenged from the gutter sludge just beyond the corner of Bourbon and Conti. Jagged scanlines and digital noise obscure frenetic cuts that smash together tight shots of the band and live performance with menacing moments of Zipse in full-on predator mode, pouncing on and pursuing the lens, awash in an eerie green glow like an otherworldly spectre hellbent for retribution and ready to party on her victim’s graves. After the credits roll and the jitters subside, the screen goes black for a period before taking a surreal turn, like a television left on in an empty room exhaling witching-hour public-access randomness into the dark.
“SPATZ” is available for preorder on limited 7” vinyl at Bandcamp. Follow Miranda and the Beat on Instagram.
Upcoming Shows
JUN 16 - Tubby’s - Kingston, NY
SEP 3 - Holy Diver - New Orleans, LA