It's hard to imagine why, but the Bitters decided this image above was the best cover for their debut album. Yikes. It's a foul, repulsive picture (fun fact: it was also used by Norwegian black metal band Orcustus), but in a way, it kind of makes sense. Because the Bitters do in fact make gross-sounding music. Not cringe-inducing music, or grotesque music, but their sound is primarily about scuzz-- in their formula, garage-rock, art-punk, and even sunny pop are covered in a thick, goopy layer of mud.
This is an increasingly common approach, used by bands like Vivian Girls, Golden Triangle, and Sic Alps, but usually these acts balance out their murk with pop hooks. But the Bitters, who are vocalist Aerin Fogel and Ben Cook (Fucked Up, Young Governor), skew more to the noise side of the equation. Their ramshackle songs mostly resist pop arrangements-- it's more about capturing a feeling within a racket than finding grooves or melody. Guitars screech, drums thud, Fogel shrieks, but amidst this noise there's a sense of forward momentum (albeit a wild, out-of-control kind) that keeps their songs grounded in some form of structure.
On East General, the Bitters marry cacophony with bits of doo-wop and grungy rock, but the album can be a slog for a couple reasons. First, the balance is off-- there's just not enough tunefulness to compensate for all the clamor. The band does offer some sweet moments-- the girl-group harmonizing of "No Anchor" and "Impatient as Can Be"-- but mostly they emphasize harshness so much that songs become muddy and unmemorable. The record's other main issue is length. Bands who do this kind of thing well (No Age or Sic Alps) know brevity is key, and these tracks would work better shorter. There's no reason, for example, that closer "I'm Feeling Good" needs to approach seven minutes-- there aren't enough ideas to carry it that long.
Not surprisingly then, East General works best on straightforward, punchier songs like "Nails in the Coffin" and "The New Real Way". If you've followed the Bitters on their early singles, you know they can crank out good material when they keep things simple-- see blog fave "Warrior". A lover's anthem equal parts venom and longing, it was brief and to the point and highlighted both Cook's untamed instrumentation and Fogel's captivating vocals. It seems reasonable to think they could find that spark again and shake off this record with a stronger follow-up.
