The Bellrays

What besides the electric guitar, in nature or technology, can sound so much like flatulence and also sound so beautiful? Only a few guitarists -- Keith Richards, Johnny Ramone -- can make you wonder such a thing. The cover story of the latest from the Bellrays -- the Riverside, California,...

By Andrew Marcus

February 10, 2005

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

What besides the electric guitar, in nature or technology, can sound so much like flatulence and also sound so beautiful? Only a few guitarists -- Keith Richards, Johnny Ramone -- can make you wonder such a thing. The cover story of the latest from the Bellrays -- the Riverside, California, foursome with the chutzpah to launch themselves with the slogan "Maximum Punk 'n' Soul" and then bellyache when they're pigeonholed -- is that Tony Fate proves himself a guitar hero. The style is all his own, though not without references. It's somewhere on the messiest part of a plate piled with Ramones meat, sweet Stax potatoes and a spacy aftertaste where the wine spilled in (also an apt description of the overall sound of the band). And Fate's triumph isn't the only news here: On the band's fifth album -- and the best rock album of the young year -- the anger is more articulate, the compassion warmer, the tunes catchier. The Bellrays do one rare thing, better and better.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Phoenix New Times has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.