Review
BITCHES – BUSTER
Released 18th March 2012 (Gravy Records)
Words: Gaz Martinez
With a name like Bitches, how could I possibly say no to reviewing them! You get a feeling of a band’s musical style from even just the name, Bitches just screams punk rock at me, and with their new EP, Buster, I’m not far off at all. It’s not the angry hardcore style of punk that we know and love, the whole EP sounds to be in the earlier vein, when punk wasn’t entirely sure of how pissed it could be at the world, Bitches seem to be very sure of how they sound. Half of the songs on this record are under two minutes long and have a very canine feel to them, with song titles like Chasing Tail, Kill Birds Eat Shit and All Dogs Go To Heaven and the lyrics reflecting them, how could they not.
This record almost absolutely felt like it was recorded in somebody’s shed with next to no professional equipment, and this is deliberate for capturing the DIY dynamic that punk rock is supposed to exemplify. That said the guitar tone can really grind your ears through multiple listens and I can see this getting stale quite quickly, the first two songs are far too short to have much substance to them at all, I find myself skipping those two and possibly the third so I can get to All Dogs Go To Heaven, which is the best track here.
Buster is a decent demo, but it should be just that, in order to step it up a gear for their next EP or even full length album, despite what is supposed to be promoted by punk rock’s ethic, the production should be the first thing to improve. It’s one thing sounding better live than on your record, but when your record only appeals to the most die hard of fans, your crowd won’t get bigger to demonstrate your stagecraft to.
