Bitch Magnet - Bitch Magnet

  by Jon Rogers

published: 27 / 1 / 2012

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Review

Okay, let's start with the negative side of things and get them out of the way first. That name. Horrible and sexist. I'm only guessing you were young and a bit naive and didn't know any better. But really? The band was formed whilst its members were attending college in Ohio, so you've got an education and still you call your band something as terrible as that. And then to compound matters you call your first release in 1988 'Star Booty'. It's enough to put you off even before you've heard a note. Which is unfortunate if it does as US trio are worth a listen, if you happen to like influential post-hardcore. But a little history might very well be in order seeing as the band are hardly a household name even amongst music aficionados let alone the wider public at large. The trio of Sooyoung Park (vocals and bass), Jon Fine (guitar) and Orestes Delatorre (aka Morfin) (drums) formed the band whilst at Oberlin College in 1986. They released the mini-album 'Star Booty' in 1989 with Steve Albini at the controls. They put out their first full-length LP, 'Umber' in 1989 after David Galt (guitar) joined, and then their final album, 'Ben Hur' a year later which featured David Grubbs instead of Galt. And then called it a day. Since then, really through word-of-mouth, their acclaim has slowly spread, often cited alongside Slint as being an inspiration for post-hardcore, post-rock or whatever you want to call it. Then last year the original line-up reformed to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in December. And to capitalise on a renewed interest the band's output is getting the re-issue treatment in one nicely packaged triple set. Plus an assortment of outtakes, rare recordings et al. So what to make of it all? Well, for starters it's a million miles ahead of most of their contemporaries. All too often any band of Bitch Magnet's ilk would be a harsh, charmless, joyless affair. All brutal in-your-face thrash at 90 miles per hour with no flash - and no one dare deviate from the stated formula. In sort, all too often just a horrible noise with no finesse or subtlety. Bitch Magnet played their part in changing all that. Whilst they could kick up a sandstorm of noise when they wanted ('Goat-Legged Country God') they'd also been paying attention to dynamics, tension and knowing that sometimes less is more. Often the audience doesn't need to be whacked about the head with a mallet to get the point. And they could write a nice little melody too, if the feeling took them - well, 'Sea of Pearls' is about as melodic as the band get. Really the band's style in neatly encompassed in the 9-minute opener to 'Ben Hur' - 'Dragoon'. All the hallmarks are there. That familiar loud/soft, stop/start dialectic, grumbling vocals, and guitars. Lots of guitars. And that whole aesthetic runs right through 'Ben Hur', no doubt their most diverse and accomplished work. 'Ducks and Drakes' even slows right down to a mere plod at times. And while they perhaps never quite matched the simmering tension and sense of impending danger that Slint achieved, Bitch Magnet had much more life in them and weren't afraid to just let rip when they wanted. Admittedly at times - as with 'Joan of Arc' it all gets rather predictable and monotonous but you just might get stuck on Bitch Magnet if you give them a chance.

Track Listing:-

1 Dragoon
2 Valmead
3 Ducks and Drakes
4 Mesentery
5 Lookin At The Devil
6 Gator
7 Spite y Malice
8 Crescent
9 White Piece of Bread
10 Sadie
11 Motor
12 Navajo Ace
13 Clay
14 Joan of Arc
15 Douglas Leader
16 Goat-Legged Country God
17 Big Pining
18 Joyless Street
19 Punch and Judy
20 Americruiser
21 Motor (Alternate Mix)
22 Punch and Judy (Alternate Version)
23 Joan of Arc (Alternate Version)
24 Big Pining (Alternate Version)
25 Joyless Street (Alternate Version)
26 Sadie (Alternate Version)
27 Carnation
28 C Word
29 Sea of Pearls
30 Hatpins
31 Knucklehead
32 Circle K
33 Polio
34 Cantaloupe

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/Bitch-Magnet-
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2MSI
https://twitter.com/bitchmagnet

Label Links:-

http://temporaryresidence.com/
https://www.facebook.com/temporaryresi
https://twitter.com/tempresltd
https://www.youtube.com/user/temporary
https://plus.google.com/+temporaryresi