Country Teasers

Country Teasers is a Scottish art punk band formed in 1993.

Background

Early Country Teasers albums were characterised by literate, scathingly satirical lyrics and discordant, repetitive sound – like William S. Burroughs leading Joy Division or The Fall through a setlist of art-damaged country and western songs.[1]

Later Teasers releases branched out to "abuse not only country & western but every other genre they can get their hands on, including rap, goth, punk, folk, disco, electronic, and noise,"[2] leading to comparisons with other home-recording deconstructionists like Royal Trux, Butthole Surfers and Ween.[3]

Frontman and songwriter Ben Wallers's lyrics have elicited comparisons to Jonathan Swift, Bill Hicks and Chris Morris,[4] provoking the audience with unorthodox standpoints and purposefully offensive vocabulary in order to force them to question their own opinions. In the words of a writer on the Drowned in Sound website, ""Evil country outfit" Country Teasers are led by the enigmatic singer/guitarist BR Wallers. Their discordant aural assault is filled out with bitingly ironic lyrics, poking fun at racism and sexism by inhabiting the minds of the losers that purvey these attitudes."[5] "Like moralistic ’80s punks Crass, the Country Teasers make their statement, but they use humor to do it, as opposed to histrionic art-house punk screech… They find your comfort zone and blissfully stomp all over it."[6]

The Teasers' live shows are infamously unpredictable fusions of alcohol-or-whatever-fueled unprofessionalism and high-concept performance art, or in the words of the New York Press: "Country Teasers does art better than Sonic Youth and drunkenness better than The Pogues—and doesn’t need art or liquor to be confrontational bastards."[7]

Country Teasers are often compared to The Fall, although as Static Party's Ryan W points out, "it's not in the chord structures or the Northern (UK) accent, it's in the feel they create akin to the early Fall records that a truly creative brain is battering against resistance (self or other) to create something meaningful to itself. If you get something from it as well... Art! Put on a CT record and read the Maakies comics, it's better than bread and chocolate."[8]

Another sometime member of the band is playwright Simon Stephens.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Videos

Appearances

References

  1. ↑ Maerz, Jennifer. "The Easy Surrealists", The Stranger (January 8, 2004). Accessed March 12, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Country Teasers Live", Universal Buzz (July 31, 1999). Accessed March 12, 2007.
  3. ↑ Brissey, Grant. "Grate Scots", The Stranger (May 16, 2006). Accessed March 12, 2007.
  4. ↑ Mellors, Nathaniel. "The Empire Strikes Back", Frieze Magazine (2006). Accessed March 12, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Country Teasers", Drowned in Sound (October 5, 2006). Accessed March 12, 2007.
  6. ↑ Davidson, Duncan Scott. "Schlock Tease: Country Teasers jab at the darker crannies of whiteness", San Francisco Bay Guardian. Accessed January 21, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Preview - Country Teasers live at Tonic", New York Press (June 15, 2006). Accessed January 21, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Country Teasers - Against", Static Party (August 29, 2006). Accessed March 12, 2007.
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