GB City
by
GB City Image
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

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  • Artist(s): John Barrett
  • Summary: This is the debut for the garage rock duo from Mississippi and was produced by Ross Robinson.
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  • Record Label: Fat Possum
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Lo-Fi, Garage Rock Revival
  • More Details and Credits »

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Beats Per Minute
    Apr 20, 2011
    79
    GB City is a solid debut, proving Bass Drum of Death as capable agents of both the blues and garage traditions.
  2. AllMusic
    Apr 20, 2011
    70
    Bass Drum of Death have put together a proto-punk album for the digital age where you could swear you heard the tape hissing out of your blown laptop speakers.
  3. Consequence
    Apr 20, 2011
    70
    GB City might not be your cup of tea, but it could stand to help us who were around to relive the glory days of Geos and cassette decks.
  4. The New York Times
    Apr 20, 2011
    70
    The songs on GB City, this band's debut album, are surly and mischievous, a pungent, effective collision of garage-rock bashing and Ramones sneer.
  5. Pitchfork
    Apr 22, 2011
    62
    These guys don't showcase a similarly thorough ear for songwriting, but as far as rock'n'roll feats of strength go, GB City, their debut, registers quickly.
  6. Under The Radar
    May 27, 2011
    60
    GB City is a heaping helping of frazzled guitar caterwaul, bashed drums, and teenage delinquent lyrics about "talking to Elvis in my sleep" where Elvis responds, "I'm cracked out." [May 2011, p.83]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. The A.V. Club
    Apr 20, 2011
    58
    Bass Drum Of Death is likely best appreciated live, where the excitement of seeing a thunderously loud, amped-up group of shaggy hooligans compensates for any shortcomings in songwriting and originality. GB City falters without that infusion of energy.

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. RealSuperSand
    Apr 19, 2013
    10
    This is the True Meaning of Rock, going over the top in their music production and have no limits as in playing with mellowhype and otherThis is the True Meaning of Rock, going over the top in their music production and have no limits as in playing with mellowhype and other members of OFWGKTA. This Mississippian duo understands the true meaning of music, to have a freaking good time and share their own compositions that aren't generic/(ChoRDCHORDCHORDCHORDRIFF) songs.

    SWAG    … Expand
  2. greentrees707
    Oct 17, 2016
    8
    This album is **** AWESOME.

    John Barrett ain't no Jimmy Page, ain't no Jimi Hendrix. He don't pretend to be. He's just a kid in his    This album is **** AWESOME.

    John Barrett ain't no Jimmy Page, ain't no Jimi Hendrix. He don't pretend to be. He's just a kid in his basement writing some kick-**s rock and roll songs that sound like Ty Segall and Johnny Ramone gone back in time to like 1957 getting trashed in a drained swimming pool.

    Barrett finds a way to make lyrics that sound cool and mean nothing. This is real artistry of rock music. "Five dollar medicine up my sleeve. I say I pass it, Oh yeah, I pass it. Yeah with the pass you set me free." "The devil's in my head. I click my heels and away we go; still rock on by, though you're a beast tryna knock me down." "These suits are always in my way, but, **** it gets me through the day. GB CITY!"
    Half the songs are about smoking pot, and the other half are about hangin out. The album cover is John and Colin smoking pot and hanging out. Nice, nonpretentious stuff.

    It's really hard to convey just how solid this album really is, because it's very technically nonimpressive. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that it **** ROCKS. What matters is that I've literally listened to it hundreds of times and to this day I can't NOT air-drum to Get Found. What matters is that John gets me unashamedly singing along to a dozen two-minute tracks about smokin pot and hangin out.

    Singing - there's a point to be made. Maybe it's just the illusion of distortion, but I **** love the way this guy howls and hoots. Track 5 "High School Roaches". You know what I'm talking about.

    I think song titles say a lot about a band. The entire A-side of this album has really memorable track names. "Nerve Jamming". What does that even mean? Well, s**t, now he's f**kin nerve jammin. GB City? I read that and I was like "is this a song about a geeber?" Sure enough, the titular track is in fact a song about a geeber. And High School Roaches is a song about high school roaches. I'm a sucker for low-brow **** I love PBR. I love Four Loko. I love COPS. I love Trailer Park Boys. And I **** love Bass Drum of Death. Compare this to Barrett's most recent LP, RIP THIS. Instead of "Heart Attack Kid" and "Get Found", we get "Electric", "Left for Dead", and "Better Days". Tell me, how many **** songs do you think there are out there called "Electric"? I bet it's a lot. I'm cherry picking, I admit, but I'm sure if we got a f**kin statistician in here he'd do some analysis on the frequency of songs with similar names or whatever.

    Whatever.

    I've been going in for too long. Fanboying for too long. If you haven't heard this album yet, go listen to it right now, I know it's on Youtube and stuff. If you like it, cool. If you don't, whatever, I'ma have the tape rewound by the time I got the boys out of town.

    I censored all the swear words cause I don't know how Metacritic feel bout dat.    … Expand

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