The music that influenced My Best Unbeaten Brother’s Pessimistic Pizza
My Best Unbeaten Brother cover image courtesy of the artist
Described as “the lost pioneers of the indie-emo scene,” the Parker brothers’ unconventional sound has garnered critical acclaim from countless publications over the years. With Pessimistic Pizza, their first new material since 2013, they reunite with their longtime label, Audio Antihero (known for releases by Frog, Cloud, and Magana). Over the seven tracks, the mini-album reflects their search for hope and meaning, shedding past insecurities while maintaining their off-kilter musical chemistry.
As three distinct individuals coming together to form My Best Unbeaten Brother (Ben Parker, Adam Parker, and Ben Fry), their influences are as broad and unique as their sound. What follows are Ben Parker’s (lead singer and guitarist) influential tracks behind their new mini-album, Pessimistic Pizza.
Leatherface – ‘Do the Right Thing’
I have been going on about Leatherface forever now. ‘Do the Right Thing’ was one of the lead singles from Minx, which is one of my favourite records. It’s the follow up album to Mush, which is the one fans will always say is the best. But I heard Minx first and, after many repeated listens, got well beyond the pretty murky production and unearthed the pretty catchy pop songs beneath. I’ve heard them described as Lemmy singing with Husker Du, and I can see that. They are tough and the vocals sound like they have lived a life, but they manage to sound heartfelt and authentic and funny and (crucially) not-corny-at-all at the same time. So, why are they in the list? Mainly because, when I was starting to write songs again and wanted to play loud music with a band again I thought to myself, is there anything new you can do with this format, and then I thought that, well, if this album came out today I’d still love it, and that was enough to get me to stop worrying about overthinking stuff and just get on with it. Also, I wanted to write stuff that was maybe a little more relatable and maybe even a little bit optimistic in places (amongst the obvious pessimism). When Frankie Stubbs sings “don’t underestimate underdogs, they can beat the world and come back for more, they can dance and romance, and drink the night into coma”… well, I would ideally like someone to hear a line in one of our songs and feel the same way that Frankie singing this makes me feel.
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Dinosaur Jr. – ‘Out There’
When I first heard Where You Been by Dinosaur Jr., it was the best thing I had ever heard. It was 1993 and very much in the thick of the grunge period, and very much a golden age for me, and Dinosaur Jr. were grouped with this but sounded very different. I took Adam (my brother and the drummer in My Best Unbeaten Brother) to see them play at the Brixton Academy (his second ever gig), and for a while they were our absolute favourite band. When Ben (Fry, bass player in MBUB), Adam, and I first met up to talk about starting a band, we talked about bands we liked and the one that we all agreed on was Dinosaur Jr. The three of us then went to see them play Where You Been in its entirety at the Garage in London last year. And it was great. And I thought hey, I’ll use a distortion pedal again and actually attempt a solo on a song for the first time in ages – for a long time in the past I had dismissed pedals and guitar solos as somehow unauthentic and a bit cheesy, but I stripped away some of that self-consciousness and used a pedal for about 15 seconds of the album. The first time Ben came round to mine and we ran through the new songs I had written, I improvised a solo for ‘Blues Fatigue’ that somehow came out really well and sounded a bit, a tiny bit, like J Mascis. Needless to say, I never managed to re-create that magic entirely, but it is still there in spirit on the version on the album.
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Belle and Sebastian – ‘Like Dylan in the Movies’
Also in the list of album from the 90s that have left an indelible impact on me, that I still hold dear, and that would sound as fresh today as the day they were first recorded, is If You’re Feeling Sinister by Belle and Sebastian. I could have picked most of the songs from the album but I’m picking this one. Simple and not simple at all, and seemingly designed to feel like an album to cling to in times of need. I have long thought that a band combining the noise of Dinosaur Jr. or the Jesus and Mary Chain or someone like that with the melodies and warmth of B&S would be marvellous. I’m not saying I’ve achieved that, or was even really attempting that with our new record, but to my ears you can hear the influence in bits like the chorus of ‘Extraordinary Times.’
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Palace Music – ‘The Weaker Soldier’
In case you didn’t know, our band name comes from a Will Oldham song (‘I See A Darkness’ – Bonnie Prince Billy). I have loved Will Oldham’s stuff since I got Arise, Therefore back when it was released. Please check out the album if you don’t know it – it’s a beauty. It’s often overlooked amongst the more well-known albums that came before and after but to me it’s the best. Stark production by Steve Albini, and I believe a very basic drum machine that they used because the drummer didn’t turn up to the session. To me, it’s like the fragility and beauty of Neil Young in his quiet moments but taken to the next level. But, you might say, you’re music sounds nothing like Will Oldham’s music? And I get what you are saying. But there are lessons from this stuff that I have taken on board: simplicity harnessed into something much more through idiosyncratic lyrics and vocals. No frills, just the good stuff.
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The Smiths – ‘Reel Around the Fountain’
I had to include the Smiths although (and maybe because), as I mention on one of the songs on the new album, I can’t listen to them these days because of what Morrissey now seems to stand for. But I used to listen to them a lot, and it was listening to them and reading about them that I think gave me the confidence to actually try to write songs and to be the singer in a band when I first had a go at this. I loved the way the lyrics mix the personal with stuff nicked from popular culture and books. I loved the way the lyrics seemed to really matter and were really worth paying attention to.
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