Music Reviews<\/p>\n
by Kent Manthie<\/p>\n
Atomic Bitch: \u201cWhat\u2019s Inside\u201d (self-released)
\n At first I braced myself for some high-pitched, cacophonous ranting and raving and screaming \u2013 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.
\n Although \u201cWhat\u2019s Inside\u201d was recorded in 2003, it is still brand-new sounding.
\n Atomic Bitch consists of one who calls herself Ursulla and one Brad Davis. \u2018Ursulla\u2019 (with two Ls) does the singing and she & Brad play all the instruments & do the backing vocals.
\n Some cuts that really stood out to me were: \u201cTransistor Radio\u201d, \u201cTilt-Up\u201d and \u201cWish\u201d, tracks 6, 8 and 5, respectively.
\n 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\u2019t be ignored,
\n If your interest is piqued, you may want to check out their website to see what they\u2019ve been up to in the intervening three years since this album was recorded, it\u2019s: http:\/\/www.atomicbitch.com \u2013 KM.<\/p>\n
Fetal Pigs in Brine: \u201c\u2026For Christmas\u201d (Still Fumin\u2019 Records)
\n Merry friggin\u2019 Christmas! This is my kind of holiday record \u2013 raw, jammin\u2019 rockin\u2019 out with a little surf-edge to it. Yowza.
\n 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\u2019s a rockin\u2019 little disc that will have plenty of life in myriad holiday seasons to come.
\n The best cut for my money is #2 \u2013 \u201cWinter Session (Middle Peak Lefts) a sort of surf-punk jam-out. The other three tracks are rocked-up renditions of old holiday standards: \u201cThe 12 Days of Christmas\u201d, \u201cSanta Claus is Coming to Town\u201d and \u201cO Holy Night\u201d.
\n If you want to wake up your holiday guests after dinner this year, crank this disc up on your stereo \u2013 it\u2019ll be fun. (http:\/\/stillfumin.com\/) KM<\/p>\n
Equals Conquest: \u201cManifest Destiny\u201d (DRP Records)
\n 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.
\n Equals Conquest piqued my interest from the beginning, with \u201cManifest Destiny\u201d, their debut. Equals Conquest consists of just two individuals: Imix Shish, formerly of Reading, PA\u2019s Afterglows and one of his former bandmates, Mike Mollura.
\n Originally, this was to be Shish\u2019s debut solo album, but, as he said, what started out as a \u201csinger-songwriter\u201d project turned into something that made him feel naked, too vulnerable or exposed, I guess; so that\u2019s when he brought in Mike for some support, musically and otherwise. The result is \u201cManifest Destiny\u201d, 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.
\n Songs such as the opener, \u201cLexis\u201d, or \u201cThere Will Be Refreshments After the Mass\u201d are cool, jaded-but-not-bitter slices of life that are also damn pleasing to the ears. (http:\/\/www.drprecords.com) \u2013 KM.<\/p>\n
Atomic Bitch: \u201cBody Shop\u201d (Top & Bottom Records)
\n Well, they\u2019re 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 \u201cBody Shop\u201d, their third album and it looks like they\u2019ve scored some label support now, being released by Top and Bottom Records. I believe their 2003 release \u201cWhat\u2019s Inside\u201d was self-released.
\n I really dug the opener, \u201cShort Bus\u201d, 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\u2019re powers together.
\n The title track is also a really catchy tune; it\u2019s got this infectious, groovy hook to it and you can\u2019t help but be drawn to it if you\u2019re doing something else while listening to it; ditto for \u201cGoobertron\u201d \u2013 the whole album is full of songs like these \u2013 tunes that have such damn catchy riffs to them, they\u2019re bound to stick with you, ricocheting around inside your head for long after you\u2019ve finished listening to the CD. (http:\/\/www.atomicbitch.com) \u2013 KM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Music Reviews by Kent Manthie Atomic Bitch: \u201cWhat\u2019s Inside\u201d (self-released) At first I braced myself for some high-pitched, cacophonous ranting and raving and screaming \u2013 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 \u201cWhat\u2019s Inside\u201d was recorded in 2003, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":226,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2006\/12\/13\/atomic-bitch-ad\/","url_meta":{"origin":200,"position":0},"title":"Atomic Bitch ad","author":"admin","date":"December 13, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Atomic Bitch appears at The Alibi on University Avenue in January. http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/atomicbitch","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":422,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2007\/11\/11\/zine-cd-web-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":200,"position":1},"title":"Zine, CD, & web Reviews","author":"admin","date":"November 11, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Reviews by Sterling PrestonZine ReviewPendejo Magazine Winter 2006 Pendejo Magazine\u2019s Winter 2006 issue brings you the insights, rants and nudity of a Hawaii underground you might not have known existed. 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But even with their roots showing as obviously as bleached blonde\u2019s, they manage to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":233,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2007\/01\/30\/music-reviews-by-kristina-clayton\/","url_meta":{"origin":200,"position":5},"title":"Music Reviews by Kristina Clayton","author":"admin","date":"January 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"MUSIC REVIEWS by Kristina Clayton Dirty Kings Electric Dirt Nice guitar riffs, smack-ass bass and rump-rockin rhythm coming from this trio of musicians. Electric Dirt is one of the better underground rock albums even though I think the singer is a bit tone def. 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