Benzo Queen – No Gods, No Masters, No Sleeves | Album Review

Bristol trio Benzo Queen channel their most unhinged and noisiest grooves into a non-stop barrage of synth led chaos on their latest offering No Gods, No Masters, No Sleeves.

Hailing from one of the UK’s most vibrant and active hubs of experimental music, Benzo Queen have been making their mark for a while with their decidedly unserious blend of off-the-wall humour and deranged synth-punk energy. Recorded live on New Years Eve in Bristol, because watching Jools Holland’s Hootenanny is for cowards, Benzo Queen’s sophomore full-length No Gods, No Masters, No Sleeves delivers a rapid fistful of barely contained pandemonium.

Between their stabbing synths, frantic drumming and demented, screamed vocals, Benzo Queen’s sound is an unruly assault on the senses with plenty of groove and anarchic humour. Picking out individual bright moments is a demanding task in amongst all the loud noises and flashing lights, many tracks such as ‘PUNKS!’ and album opener ‘Wardrobe Malfunction’ build themselves up around a brief and catchy motif, bending it to its limits in less than a minute and running away when it snaps. While this rapid fire approach leaves little room for stretching a concept to otherworldly heights, Benzo Queen keep their electro-punk attitude intact while giving themselves the freedom to get a little wild with their ideas.

While combing through a violently abrasive album such as No Gods, No Masters, No Sleeves with a magnifying glass kind of goes against Benzo Queen’s rabid punk ethos, there are a handful of moments that stand out amongst the static. The funhouse-esque FM synth riff and repeated vocal line on ‘Return Of The Gak’ have a strangely nostalgic feel, like the theme tune to some forgotten noughties TV show while the bouncy swagger of ‘Any Good?’ is reminiscent of Welsh punk legends Mclusky if they were forced through a fine sieve made entirely out of discarded fuzz pedals and broken microphones. Although the music they make is rough and lighthearted, underneath the surface there are hints of deliberate songwriting.

Taking a significant departure from the rest of No Gods, No Masters, No Sleeves, the track ‘2 Benzo 2 Furious’ sounds like hearing one of the band’s other tracks on a haunted turntable set at half speed. Gone are the sub-two minute blasts of frantic energy, they’ve been replaced here by doomy atmospheres and vintage horror inspired synths in a seven minute deconstruction of expectations, turning everything you knew about Benzo Queen on its head. While the pace may have slowed, ‘2 Benzo 2 Furious’ is pure Benzo Queen, the anarchic humour, buzzy synths and feral screamed vocals are all still here, just with a new doom-metal inspired coat of paint.

Clocking in at just twenty minutes No Gods, No Masters, No Sleeves is a swift punch to the gut with all of Benzo Queen’s trademark zaniness and savagery. With an unceasing barrage of screeched vocals, fuzzed-out synths and chaotic drums, Benzo Queen deliver a beautifully unhinged panic attack wrapped up in a neat package.