On this side of the globe, Fall is on it’s way, with what we hope is the last of the brutalist heat waves giving way to cloudy skies. It’s got us thinking pre-seasonal thoughts like “boy howdy, there’s gonna be a lot of leaves to rake up,” and “Jesus Christ, how are there 8,000 unread emails in my inbox?” Quite obviously, this is a job for a band like General Admin. But no, we don’t mean picking up leaves and deleting stale promos.
General Admin is here to clear the mental cobwebs with tight, well organized vocal prose and syncopated licks, as evidenced in latest single “New Bisto.” The single steadily rises with an ever expanding dynamic, at times even bordering the psychedelic, yet stays focused on the song’s math-y, melodic themes.
There’s a hint of rainy, old school English prog rock to be found in “New Bisto” as well after it’s the straight up math rock introduction. You can hear a certain lofty wistfulness and both the music and the lyrics, which are heavy with insight. Lines like “you say you know what you want but somehow you’re wrong about your own self interests” hit home for many of us in an era that has us increasingly concerned for the ones around us and their critical thinking skills thanks to… well, we don’t have time for that. Again, we’ve got a lot of emails to delete. But presently, we’re not worrying about it – General Admin’s commanding sense of songwriting lets the listeners surrender to its peaks and valleys, so we’re going to do just that. If you’re like us and could use a cathartic moment or two, strap in and check out “New Bisto” below.
For how dense and varied the guitar and bass parts are, there’s never any sense of showing off. It’s all cohesively narrative, and clearly inhabits the Goldilocks zone for ‘what the song needs,’ a purposefully difficult destination in math rock. The band’s melodic focus cuts through on every level to establish functionality and depth as the main objectives, and General Admin nail the gig with ease. Take the cerebral, proggy perspectives of Tera Melos and the brutalist edge of Faraquet, and dash it with a hint of punk, and you’re nearly there. A more modern reference at this point would be False Pockets. Enough comparisons, you should be listening to the song by this point.
Wait, suddenly we’re wondering if somehow this is about Bisto the granulated gravy product. Oh, you’re not familiar? Neither were we until we wanted to fact check where ‘old Bisto’ might have been, or when it was established. In the end, it seems Bisto is more of a state of mind (although officially established in 1908) so if you have a choice, we wholeheartedly recommend the “New Bisto” over the old. We reckon it’s better for your health, too. The band’s upcoming record Techno Techno Techno Techno will be out this September.
Bisto… What a concept. I guess if we can have fake bacon in salt shakers and impossible burgers grown in labs, we could have some of that as well. As a treat. Don’t forget to check out the band’s previous EP on their Bandcamp here, or feed our vile coffee sludge demon here. Coming up we’ve got good stuff from Turian, Chat Pile, People Food, and more. Thanks for reading – cheers!