Monday, March 30, 2009

Bitch Magnet - Umber

Label: Communion
Year: 1989

It dawned on me that this record has not been posted on this blog, and for that over site, I truly apologize. I'm not sure how it slipped through the cracks, but hopefully it's "better late than never". I also hope that in your music-listening-appreciation career, you have had the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the pleasures of Bitch Magnet. Certainly, if you find yourself nodding awkwardly along to off-kilter math rock beats you have at least heard a band who owes a debt of gratitude to Bitch Magnet. If you've enjoyed the calming bliss of over driven waves of post hardcore guitar riffing, you have at least heard a band who owes a debt of gratitude to Bitch Magnet. Their fingerprints are all over modern guitar rock, from angular, mathy assaults, to epic, triumphant sheets of noise, to catchy, punked up indie rock, these guys were doing it well way back when. If you are a fan of anyone from Seaweed to Rodan to Slint to Rapeman to Codeine, you'll probably find something in these songs to raise your dander.
Members of Bitch Magnet went on to form Seam, Bastro, Walt Mink, Gastr del Sol, Vineland, Don Cabellero, Coptic Light, Ee, and I'm sure thousands more. The point being, these guys know their way around the music that you tend to like, so take that under advisement.

Also, this is the cd version of Umber which also includes their first lp Star Booty.

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6 comments:

  1. panzanMarch 30, 2009 at 12:37 PM

    Outstanding. This is classic rock where i'm from. if it weren't for this band and much of Dischord's and Touch n Go's catalogs between 1988 - 1992, my town (Pittsburgh) probably would have had a very different indie rock scene... if any.

    Speaking of Pittsburgh - no one from Bitch Magnet "formed" Don Caballero. However, guitarist John Fine briefly toured with Don Cab in the late 90s in one of their myriad lineups. Also, either shortly before or shortly after Don Cab did form, Damon Fitzgerald (these days aka Damon Che, for whatever reason) tried out to replace Orestes Morfin as Bitch Magnet's drummer. Obviously that never came together.

    So many 90s indie rockers are reuniting. I would love to see these guys play out one more time.

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  2. ipecacApril 1, 2009 at 7:07 PM

    ^^
    that's what i've been trying to say all along

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  3. AnonymousApril 6, 2009 at 4:04 PM

    zzzzzzzzzzz

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  4. TONAApril 26, 2009 at 4:09 AM

    Wow, Bitch Magnet...that was fuckin awesome, thanks for reminding!

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  5. jonderDecember 1, 2009 at 1:09 PM

    I have been looking for this record without success for some time now. Thanks for sharing it!

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  6. Russell Emerson HallOctober 2, 2017 at 11:07 AM

    Can you re-up Umber please?!?

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