Music Reviews
by Kent Manthie
Atomic Bitch: “What’s Inside” (self-released)
At first I braced myself for some high-pitched, cacophonous ranting and raving and screaming – like Babes in Toyland, for instance. But I was pleasantly surprised to hear that this duo is in tune, have talent and can write some hook-y, super-cool tunes.
Although “What’s Inside” was recorded in 2003, it is still brand-new sounding.
Atomic Bitch consists of one who calls herself Ursulla and one Brad Davis. ‘Ursulla’ (with two Ls) does the singing and she & Brad play all the instruments & do the backing vocals.
Some cuts that really stood out to me were: “Transistor Radio”, “Tilt-Up” and “Wish”, tracks 6, 8 and 5, respectively.
The music contained herein is kind of a juxtaposition of ethereal, moody, silky voices singing over stripped-down, lo-fi garage-rock. It has a lingering ambience that won’t be ignored,
If your interest is piqued, you may want to check out their website to see what they’ve been up to in the intervening three years since this album was recorded, it’s: http://www.atomicbitch.com – KM.
Fetal Pigs in Brine: “…For Christmas” (Still Fumin’ Records)
Merry friggin’ Christmas! This is my kind of holiday record – raw, jammin’ rockin’ out with a little surf-edge to it. Yowza.
Fetal Pigs in Brine, a quartet from the cool part of California (northern) have put out this EP of Xmas songs for the holidays. It’s a rockin’ little disc that will have plenty of life in myriad holiday seasons to come.
The best cut for my money is #2 – “Winter Session (Middle Peak Lefts) a sort of surf-punk jam-out. The other three tracks are rocked-up renditions of old holiday standards: “The 12 Days of Christmas”, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “O Holy Night”.
If you want to wake up your holiday guests after dinner this year, crank this disc up on your stereo – it’ll be fun. (http://stillfumin.com/) KM
Equals Conquest: “Manifest Destiny” (DRP Records)
Only a few CDs out of so many more have a kind of aura about them, a magnetism that pulls one in. Usually, in my experience anyway, these exceptional finds are usually discovered quite serendipitously.
Equals Conquest piqued my interest from the beginning, with “Manifest Destiny”, their debut. Equals Conquest consists of just two individuals: Imix Shish, formerly of Reading, PA’s Afterglows and one of his former bandmates, Mike Mollura.
Originally, this was to be Shish’s debut solo album, but, as he said, what started out as a “singer-songwriter” project turned into something that made him feel naked, too vulnerable or exposed, I guess; so that’s when he brought in Mike for some support, musically and otherwise. The result is “Manifest Destiny”, a very different sound than what Afterglows were all about. This is a mellow, forward-looking and introspective album that reflects and ruminates, with music that is at times delicate, searching and onward-moving, they all have their own intricate hooks and idyllic, crafted music that sounds so easy, but that belies a lot of work.
Songs such as the opener, “Lexis”, or “There Will Be Refreshments After the Mass” are cool, jaded-but-not-bitter slices of life that are also damn pleasing to the ears. (http://www.drprecords.com) – KM.
Atomic Bitch: “Body Shop” (Top & Bottom Records)
Well, they’re back. That kick-ass duo, born and bred in New Orleans but transplanted to So-Cal with the rest of us freaks, Atomic Bitch is back, better than ever with “Body Shop”, their third album and it looks like they’ve scored some label support now, being released by Top and Bottom Records. I believe their 2003 release “What’s Inside” was self-released.
I really dug the opener, “Short Bus”, an upbeat way to start an album. The rest of it rocked to and fro. Ursulla Tadlock and Brad Davis are a synergistic duo that make a big sound when they put they’re powers together.
The title track is also a really catchy tune; it’s got this infectious, groovy hook to it and you can’t help but be drawn to it if you’re doing something else while listening to it; ditto for “Goobertron” – the whole album is full of songs like these – tunes that have such damn catchy riffs to them, they’re bound to stick with you, ricocheting around inside your head for long after you’ve finished listening to the CD. (http://www.atomicbitch.com) – KM.