PRESS
PLATA O PLOMO REVIEWS
Drownedinsound.com-
4.5 out of 5
Remember grunge? No, not the days of
revolta-schtick, alt rock acts like Cracker and
Seven Mary Three. The days when you’re
friends shouted at you for looking like a
rent-a-hippy, “grunge is a type of music not
a lifestyle” walking fleapit? When Sub Pop
was the McDonalds of all record distribution
vendors and Soundgarden and Mudhoney blew all the
dust out of your tinpot stereo and replaced it
with a venomous pseudo drillage clatter?
Well Ben & Ben have pieced
together all the fragments of your hazy memory
and lauded it into a 21st Century raging
ramshackle order. They have released the most
terrifyingly subtle rock record we could possibly
have asked for. There are no twee indie
warblings, no arty-farty pretentious tight
t-shirt action, no haircuts involved, so to
speak. Sonic Youth could not possibly be
namechecked by the motherfucking ‘Deal.
‘Take no shit, that’s my
philosophy…’
This is a whiskey chasing, bleak
riff inducing, Jason Newsted from Metallica
outing style masterpiece. ‘Plata O
Plomo’ winds down the window of British rock
n roll and douses it with petrol fluid before
acknowledging it with a cheap matchbook. It is an
event. It is the remnants of a Courtney Love drug
test, with Buzz Osbourne of the Melvins taking
note and downing his 40oz beverage.
Silver or lead? Bassists or carnage?
Good or bad? Beavis or Butthead? Bill or Ted?
Winnebago Deal.
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Playlouder.com-
4.5 out of 5
It used to be so's you'd know where
you were with a duo: a perfect combination,
usually one of each sex, which lended itself to a
simple harmony - think The Carpenters, think
Simon and Garfunkel, think Sonny and Cher. Though
try not to think about Dollar. But then
technology came onto the scene and the likes of
Suicide and Soft Cell could augment their
warblings with a well-placed tape or two.
But for a rock band it HAD to be different. I
mean you've got to at LEAST have a bass, guitar
and drums, right?
Well, White Stripes came along and threw the rule
book out of the window, and now there's a whole
bunch of nervous-looking bassists down the dole
as the likes of The Kills go their own
(dual-carriage) way... and meanwhile, somewhere
in Oxford, two guys have been creating the
sweetest rock'n'roll you've heard in many a year.
It would be lovely to picture the romantic
scenario of twenty-something Ben and Ben - for it
is they - forlornly scanning the 'Bassist and
Vocalist Available' section in their local Oxford
rag, before resignedly giving each other
meaningful glances and grabbing the first bus to
London to see how they got on on their own for
their Fugazi support slot, but in reality you
just KNOW that the pair of them must have stared
at each other manically across a small rehearsal
room, fire sparking from their eyes as they
created riff after riff, and just KNEW that they
didn't need no-one else: for They Were Gods...
"Too much, this town - gotta find a way out
now..." screams Ben on opening track
'Manhunt', but let's pretend he's talking about
Detroit rather than Oxford, as the UK starts to
sink under the weight of glorified American bar
bands masquerading as garage-punk.
But Winnebago Deal Are Gods. And, what's more,
they're OUR Gods. Sounding like Motorhead
covering AC/DC - or maybe, as the press release
suggests, "like Fu Manchu and Black Flag
conspiring to murder The White Stripes" -
this mini-debut album by The Winnies (as we are,
no doubt, the first - and last - to call them)
have more riffs than The Darkness, Led Zeppelin
and Iron Maiden put together. And, what's more,
every song is a killer... but then you'd know
that, just by reading the label: with titles like
'Whiskey Business', 'Maximum Overdrive', 'Nitro
Ground Shaker' and 'Just Cruisin'', you know
they're gonna deliver what it says on the tin.
Live they're even better, one Ben flailing away
on drums as though possessed by the combined
spirits of Moon and Bonham, the other stalking
the stage whilst providing maximum volume from
his guitar, supercharged by the feedback from the
speakers and the crowds. The seven tracks on this
album are all you need - forget the fakers,
charlatans and poseurs... WD are the lifeblood of
the noise that we love.
Oh, and did I mention that they Rock?
The Spanish expression 'Plata O Plomo' translates
as 'silver or lead', but also means 'punishment
or bribe': if you've got an ounce of rock'n'roll
in your blood, you won't need either to worship
at the altar of Winnebago Deal.
Nik Moore
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TheStereoEffect.com-
It's a new album by a two-piece,
guitars and drums – and a bit of yelping,
and a whole lot of volume. No, they’re not
from Detroit. No they weren’t married and
aren’t related, and they may wear red and
white, but it’s not a dress code. Winnebago
Deal – a name fit for a youth club rehearsal
band…and no surprise, that’s where they
tended to practice before they opened for Fugazi,
who kinda liked ‘em – release their
first mini-album Plata O Plomo, and if maturity
came in volume, this might very well be a
classic.
“Manhunt” opens the album with a
severely catchy hook, though fairly uninspired
compared to the thrashing that ensues.
“Whiskey Business” sounds stolen from
Seattle circa 1989, but fuelled with a bit more
alcohol and a bit less self-reverence. The
mini-album is full of metal bridges and choruses
that could attract a flock of headbangers if
necessary. The band sound best when they’re
on a road of restraint and taut song writing,
like during “Just Cruisin’” where
the sinewy substance screams in the face of the
melody, and “Harold’s Dewlaps”
where the song lasts a respectable 60 seconds.
For a duo, the sound is unbelievably large.
Bassless and proud, the two Ben’s will
doubtlessly gain all sorts of respect for their
numbers alone, and then there’s the matter
of a mini-album that might find you in a full
Satan-salute whilst wishing for the hair you had
in the 80s to grow back, if only for one guilty
snap of the neck. The eighties aren’t back
per se, but don’t give up the dream just
yet, because Winnebago Deal will force some
home-cooked hardcore down your throat if
it’s the last thing they do.
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thescourge.co.uk-
Winnebago Deal, two young fellas
called Ben who look stoned all the time playing
loud and raucous rock music - Yeah! This is a
real blast of a record, high octane and fun from
start to finish. Imagine Zakk Wylde and John
Stainer from Helmet getting pissed up and cutting
loose, it really is that loud and yet at the same
intricate, allowing two guys to sound like a full
sized band. On the lyrical side, it's hardly
earth shattering, however if you're looking for
in depth lyrical meaning in songs with titles
like 'Manhunt' or 'Whiskey Business', then you're
looking in the wrong place fella - This album is
a real short sharp shock that is gonna take you
by the skull and shake you furiously for the
duration. You can just picture the fuzzy battered
guitar just in front of the drum kit, playing
behind a wire mesh guard wall in some grotty
biker bar. Grimy fuzzy stoner grooves with the
wail of a vocal topping it all off.
This is exactly what the stagnant
mainstream hard rock scene needs, A band that are
gonna fuck people up, having loads of fun while
doing it without coming across like that wanker
----------. I challenge you to buy this record
and try and resist the temptation to mosh around
your bedroom like a deranged loon - It's
impossible.
-Brian Magill
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music-scan.de-
8 stars out of 10
Der Opener "Manhunt"
bläst einen schon gleich mal ordentlich die
Ohren frei, damit sie für die nächsten knapp
zwanzig Minuten für das Rock'n'Roll Massaker der
Engländer Winnebago Deal bereit sind. Sie liegen
mit ihrem Sound damit in der Gunst der Stunde,
die da von Bands wie Swearing At Motorists, The
White Stripes, Fu Manchu oder frühen
Hellacopters vorbereitet wurde. Natürlich
verzichten auch Winnebago Deal auf den Basser und
reissen dafür die beiden Klampfen bis zum
Anschlag auf. Die sieben Songs sind überaus
kraftvoll und energiegeladen und zeugen stets von
der durchschlagenden Livequalität der Band, die
auf "Plato O Plomo" sehr gut
eingefangen wurde. Winnebago Deal nehmen keine
Rücksicht auf irgendjemanden und mit ihren
sympathisch schlichten und fast naiv anmutenden
Riffs walzen sie rotzig alles um, was sich ihnen
in den Weg stellt. Wenn die Jungs auf ihrem Album
jetzt noch etwas mehr Abwechslung und eine
größere Stimmungsbreite in ihre Musik
einbringen können, muss man mit einem der
wichtigen Rockalben des Jahres rechnen.
-Matthias
Bad translation:
The Opener "Manhunt" blows
already equivalent times properly the ears
freely, so that they are ready for the next
scarcely twenty minutes for the Rock'n'Roll
massacres of the Englishmen Winnebago Deal. They
lie with their sound thereby in the favour the
hour, which was prepared there by volume such as
Swearing At Motorists, The White Stripes, Fu
Manchu or early Hellacopters. Naturally also
Winnebago Deal do without the Basser and tear for
it the two Klampfen up to the notice up. The
seven Songs are extremely strong and
energy-loaded and always witness from the
piercing Livequalitaet that volume, which were
very well caught on "Plato O Plomo".
Winnebago Deal do not take consideration for
somebody and with their sympathetic simple and
nearly naively seeming reef roll them rotzig
everything over, which places itself to them into
the way. If young on their album now still
somewhat the more alternation and into their
music can bring larger tendency width, one must
count on one of the important skirt albums of the
yearly.
-Matthias
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stonerrock.com-
Winnebago Deal is a unique band
sporting only two members, guitars and
drums...although I am inclined to believe that
there is some bass tracking on this CD- if there
isn't then their sound is a solid thick overall
sound with good musicianship and high energy...
Their sound overall is a high energy explosion of
fast furious riffs with tight musicianship
throughout. The vocals are often spoken and
remind me of Eddie Glass at times, with minimal
melodic moments and mostly almost screamed the
whole time. The riffs are all simple, just tight,
high energy and one after another throughout this
CD from beginning to end.
One thing is for sure, these cats are tight. They
like to just go for it the whole time and you can
tell that Winnebago Deal like to rehearse because
this album is definitely that of a well oiled,
well rehearsed machine. Every song is just one
punisher after another of upbeat danceable tune
after tune.
By the end of this CD you will be laying in a
puddle of sweat. Check out Winnebago Deal if you
like songs like 'Rollin' My way to Freedom'. This
one is full of good times sing along anthemic
driving tune after tune. The AC-DC of Stoner Rock
if you will...minus the guitar solos that is, and
the 3 chords...these cats are more complicated
than that, but you get what I mean. Check 'em out
if you like everything from early Helmet to Fu
Manchu...ROCK!
-Rob Wrong
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The Fly-
Guitar, drums, no-bass combo get
hard and heavy on their debut.
Not a long lost sibling of Kim Deal,
but two hirsute hombres from Oxford with an
unhealthy disregard for the world and everyone in
it. The guitar-drums-no-bass format may be the
fast ticket into the trendier end of the rock
mainstream, but Winnebago Deal would be as
welcome down at Trash as an outbreak of smallpox.
This is rock at its rawest - mosh-fuelling,
Motorhead-loving brutality. Plata O Plomo crams
seven distasteful tracks into 18 hostile minutes,
each one louder, faster and angrier than the one
preceding it. If you like your lyrics nihilistic
(a word critics use to mean drunken) and your
riffs loose and loud, you could do far worse than
seeking out this spiteful chunk of mayhem.
3.5/5
-Robert Collins
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friendsoftheheroes.co.uk
Winnebago deal are two
twenty-something's from Oxford who don't feel the
need for a bassist or the need to hold back.
Their mini album Plato O Plomo is a 7 track treat
of rock 'n' roll greatness. It whips by you like
storm and leaves you dizzy, disorientated &
wondering what hit you.
The two members of Winnebago Deal
just seem to not understand the meaning of the
words 'holding back': the guitar screams through
the tracks, often at a blistering speed and the
drums play alongside the guitars perfectly giving
the songs that extra bit of bite. At the band's
recent shows they have been selling out of their
demo tapes/cd's and I believe this is their first
ever release on Fierce Panda (or any other record
label for that matter). The band play with a lot
of speed and belief that they are doing something
different than other bands around them, and
although they have many old influences they take
these influences and tear them apart and play
everything in their own unmistakable way.
Winnebago Deal are young,
fresh-faced and ready to rock us all, and I'm
sure sooner or later they will make enough noise
for people to sit up and take notice of them.
-David Strange
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ballroomfavourites.com
Sitting at
the back of Jack White’s ‘How to Get A
Deal Without A Bass Player – 101’ class
about a year ago, a guy called Ben turned to his
mate, Ben and said “Fuck this for a game of
Cock Rockers. I’m going home”.
The fateful two left under a cloud, making a hell
of a noise as they threw their notes in
Jack’s face. Ben went home and hid in his
bedroom for six months until he was sure his drum
kit had learnt it’s fucking lesson and would
never speak back to him again.
Ben, in the meantime, discovered a way to play
his Gibson through both a bass and guitar amp
accidentally unleashing all manner of demons.
Oxford Youth Club Hall, where our hero’s
spent most of their time honing their guerilla
tactics, would never be the same again.
Some time later…Out of the suburban, erudite
cage that is middle England burst Plata O Plomo,
a luminous piss yello banner flying high above
the screaming tires of Winnebago Deal. The Bens
were on their way…
Plata O Plomo sounds like...aw, fuck it.
Y’all know this sound – Motorhead,
Black Flag, Hasselhoff Experiment, tad
‘o’ Nirvana, Datsuns, Fuga-a-zi,
Shellac, even…yes even Rage Against the
Machine a little bit, maybe. BUT…and yes,
there’s a but; this whole freak out is made
by two guys who really fucking hate you and want
you to know it. They are daring you to argue with
them, ‘Go on, I dare ya, fuck head’
style.
So you gonna? Or are you, like me, a big fucking
pussy who’s heading straight to the shops to
politely ask when Plata will be available for
purchase?
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