Bugs Eat Books - At Sixes and Sevens
by David McNamee
published: 11 / 2 / 2002

Label:
Bumblebear
Format: 7"
intro
New EP of "gorgeous pop songs with jagged edges" from "unassuming" group from Athens, Georgia
Being as non-committal as I try to be on these kind of things, Emo doesn’t mean a great deal to me other than possibly making a good product name for a brand of tiling putty, or denture gel. What the hell is the standard definition of ‘Emo’ now anyway ? Have we decided yet? But I guess my main problem with the whole current Emo thing is not the shoddy press coverage but the way that the bands themselves use the name as a defensive tag to pin to their music in lieu of any real benchmark of quality. Snobby pop punk, then. Pop punk in denial. What is nice though, is when an unassuming band sneaks through these trend barriers unannounced with absolutely no airs and graces and, y’know, fantastic songs always help a bit. Bugs Eat Books then will probably never become famous or be on the front cover of NME or play at the wedding of the brother-in-law of Alkaline Trio’s drum tech, but they do make quite gorgeous pop songs with jagged edges that sound like the most simple thing in the world (although if we were a little more lazy, and possibly on the AOL/Time Warner payroll, the term ‘emo Pavement’ might suffice) and are all the more lovely for it. Here are four of them, including future classic ‘Dead Batteries’, on a nice little 7” EP with sexy wraparound sleeve art. Bugs Eat Books. Nice.
Track Listing:-
1 Dead Batteries,2 La Folie Des Lunettes,
3 B/W 8.16 (and time to kill),
4 Turncoat Redcoat
most viewed articles
current edition
Peter Doherty - Blackheath Halls, Blackheath and Palace Halls, Watford, 18/3/2025 and 21/3/2025Armory Show - Interview with Richard Jobson
Liz Mitchell - Interview
Lauren Mayberry - Photoscapes
Deb Googe and Cara Tivey - Interview
Max Bianco and the BlueHearts - Troubadour, London, 29/3/2025
Sukie Smith - Interview
Maarten Schiethart - Vinyl Stories
Clive Langer - Interview
Kim Wilde - Photoscapes
most viewed reviews
current edition
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the JumboNigel Stonier - Wolf Notes
Wings - Venus and Mars
Only Child - Holy Ghosts
Kate Daisy Grant and Nick Pynn - Songs For The Trees
Neil Campbell - The Turnaround
Philip Jeays - Victoria
Darkness - Dreams On Toast
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Charles Ellsworth - Cosmic Cannon Fodder
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart