Biters are a band that play an old, familiar style of music in a new, exciting way. Think Airbourne’s take on AC/DC but geared more towards the kind of acts that Steel Panther parody. It’s edgy rock with a punk veneer and it’s of the highest order.
They’ve gone with opened “Restless Hearts” as their first single and it’s by far the best choice. Not to say that the rest of the album is particularly weak – far from it – but this one track has it all. Raucous lyrics, sing-a-long chorus, catchy riffs… instant earworm. Definitely a good choice to get them noticed with their debut Earache album.
I amongst the rousing anthems of “Heart Fulla Rock n Roll”, “Low Lives in Hi Definition”, and “Time To Bleed” (which never quite lives up to its intro) Biters find room for a bit of more gentle music with “Dreams Don’t Die”, the kind of track you should be listening to as you drive along a windy mountain road with the top down.
“1975” sounds like it was recorded in that very year, bottled and the cork popped for your indulgence this evening. If your toe’s not tapping by the time you’re halfway through this beauty, get someone to call your cardiologist – you’re dead.
The final track, “Space Age Wasteland” bring back further memories of the late 70’s / early 80’s with a definite Thin Lizzy aura going on, but without in any way sounding derivative. It sums up the album for me. A wonderful classic rock sound, with lo-fi production to make it all the more authentic.
I know this is a short review, but that’s just because I’ve got a pile of other things to do. Don’t think that it for one moment reflects negatively on the quality of the album – it’s great! I’d just rather spend more time listening to it than writing about it…
Electric Blood is out on August 7th through Earache – oh, and they’ve got some live dates to back it up:
- Fri 25th Sep – LONDON Barfly Jubilee Club
- Sat 26th Sep – NOTTINGHAM Rock City
- Sun 27th Sep – SOUTHAMPTON Joiners
- Mon 28th Sep – BRISTOL Thekla
- Tue 29th Sep – NORWICH Waterfront Studio
- Fri 2nd Oct – LEEDS Key Club
- Sat 3rd Oct – GLASGOW Stereo
- Mon 5th Oct – NEWCASTLE Think Tank
- Tue 6th Oct – LONDON Borderline
- Wed 7th Oct – WOLVERHAMPTON Slade Rooms
- Thu 8th Oct – MANCHESTER Ruby Lounge
- Fri 9th Oct – SHEFFIELD Corporation