The band from Neptune returns! A new Bitchwax video is, generally speaking, cause to celebrate, and the new one for “You Got It” heralds the upcoming LP, Scorpio, with a due showcase of that pivotal balance between forward drive and weight-of-groove that is so much the band’s own. Claiming that sonic space as their own, which, yes, it is, feels all the more purposeful given that with this record founding bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik and drummer Bob Pantella introduce guitarist Garrett Sweeny to the fold.
And yes, all three of them are also in Monster Magnet, but more importantly, all three of them are in The Atomic Bitchwax. The new video does more than hint toward social commentary with its central lead character, a young woman, walking down the street in the city facing harassment and catcalls as so many do. I can’t help but feel there’s an edge of irony in that it’s a band called The Atomic Bitchwax taking this progressive stance, but there’s nothing to say one’s thinking about these issues can’t evolve over a span of decades, though the woman-as-scorpion cover art of the new album seems to contrast, even if intended as a message of authority or power. In any case, the image of the three-piece in and alongside a speeding subway train could hardly be more fitting, and also being from New Jersey, I’m reminded of the particular relationship that those of my beloved Garden State have with NYC, the much-maligned Bridge and Tunnel Crowd who in large part make the thing go.
So I guess there’s more to unpack here than it might at first seem when one sees the phrase “new Bitchwax video,” but one would hardly begrudge the band either the message or the depth. And, as one would figure, the song rules. Always helps.
Enjoy:
The Atomic Bitchwax, “You Got It” official video
New Jersey-based rock n’ roll trio THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX are set to release their new studio album, ‘Scorpio’, August 28th release via Tee Pee Records. The group, which originally formed in the mid-90s, consists of lead vocalist/bassist Chris Kosnik, drummer Bob Pantella, and guitarist Garrett Sweeny, all of whom are past or present members of the band Monster Magnet. Scorpio is the follow up to the group’s 2017 full-length ‘Force Field’, and their eighth studio LP overall spanning more than two decades.
Today the band releases their video for the second single from the album “You Got It.”
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 29th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
So I guess when Garden State speed rock treasures The Atomic Bitchwax put out that Bowie cover video and said their new album, Scorpio, had had its release delayed owing to — DUH THE SAME SHIT THAT’S DELAYING EVERYTHING INCLUDING LIFE ITSELF — that was kind of a soft-announcement for the album itself. Fair enough. The record’s a scorcher and a groover through and through, so announce it then, announce it now, whatever. It’s gonna tear shit up just the same, whenever it gets released. It’s the Bitchwax‘s first record with Garrett Sweeny, so that’s a change, but a lot of the core mission of the band remains the same. I’d go on, but hell, I wrote the bio below, so in some ways I’ve said my piece already.
And yeah, I posted about the record before, but frankly, I like keeping these things for posterity, and it’s nice to have the official thing, plus the bio I wrote. I should probably start keeping track of when I do these things. Whatever.
Preorders are up and the video for the title-track is at the bottom of the post. Not at all shockingly, it rules:
THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX Announce Studio New Album ‘Scorpio’ Out August 28th via Tee Pee Records
WATCH: Music Video for New Single “Scorpio”
New Jersey-based rock n’ roll trio THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX have announced their new studio album, ‘Scorpio’, which will see an August 28th release via Tee Pee Records. The group, which originally formed in the mid-90s, consists of lead vocalist/bassist Chris Kosnik, drummer Bob Pantella, and guitarist Garrett Sweeny, all of whom are past or present members of the band Monster Magnet. Scorpio is the follow up to the group’s 2017 full-length ‘Force Field’, and their eighth studio LP overall spanning more than two decades.
‘Scorpio’ Tracklisting: 1. Hope You Die 2. Energy 3. Ninja 4. Scorpio 5. Easy Action 6. Crash 7. Super Sonic 8. You Got It 9. Betting Man 10. Instant Death
BIO:
The scourge and scorch of New Jersey returns, and their sting is deadly as ever. Garden State riff rock stalwarts The Atomic Bitchwax proudly present their eighth full-length, Scorpio.
In a busy three years since NJ’s most powerful power trio issued 2017’s Force Field, they’ve toured the US and Europe multiple times over, taken part in fests far and wide, and blown past the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut album.
Scorpio acknowledges the two-decades milestone in its opening revamp of the first song the band ever wrote with vocals, “Hope You Die,” the crash-in of which will be immediately familiar to anyone who’s seen them live. A generation later, it still gets the message across.
From then on, it’s all-go on nine fresh-made burners, founding bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik, guitarist Garrett Sweeny, and drummer Bob Pantella toying with tempo subtly to lace songs like “Betting Man” and “Easy Action” and “Energy” with signature-style memorable hooks amid instrumentals “Ninja,” “Crash” and “Instant Death,” the head-spinning turns of which push ahead in the aggressive stance The Bitchwax began to present in 2015’s Gravitron while still remaining imbued with new character and the loyalty to classic heavy rock that underlies all their work.
Tracked in Jan. 2020 at Sound Spa in Edison, NJ, with Stephen DeAcutis engineering, Scorpio is a righteous next stage of the momentum The Atomic Bitchwax have been building through hard touring and release after release of gauntlet-throwing-down rock and roll. This is a band that never stops moving, and only ever moves forward.
Hey, if you’re not afraid of Americans at this point, you’re just not paying attention. And the saddest part about that? It applies to all sides of every argument and every issue.
So here we are. New Jersey-based heavy rock stalwarts The Atomic Bitchwax might be aiming to make a political statement in taking on David Bowie‘s “I’m Afraid of Americans” for a new tribute on Main Main Records — Frankenstein 3000 and The Ribeye Bros. also feature — but it’s inherently a political song. And despite the fact that it’s been nearly 25 years since the track first showed up — and oh, how edgy it was at the time; Bowie and peak-era Trent Reznor daring to make a statement about… anything — one can hardly argue against its continued resonance in the age of climate disaster, mass shootings, civil unrest, global pandemic, economic devastation, descent into tribalist fascism, on and on and fucking on. I’m an Amerian and I’m afraid of Americans too. Some of those fuckers are out grocery shopping without a mask on.
One wouldn’t expect the Bitchwax to make a sudden turn toward sociopolitical declaration — stranger things have happened, but it would be a shift for them — but what makes their “I’m Afraid of Americans” all the more interesting is how loyal it is to the Bowie/Reznor original. The Atomic Bitchwax are no more known for using synthesizers than they are for politics, and “I’m Afraid of Americans” sees drummer Bob Pantella taking on a multi-instrumentalists and programmer role while founding bassist Chris Kosnik handles vocals as usual. I’m not sure if from their description guitarist Garrett Sweeny is on this at all or if it was done before he was really integrated into the band last year, but either way, it’s a cool step outside the power-trio norm for The Atomic Bitchwax, and nice to know that more than 20 years on, they still have the ability to surprise.
However, don’t take this to mean they’re going industrial for their new album, Scorpio, when it arrives in August. Not saying I’ve heard it or anything, but it’s all the fuzzy speed rock scorch you know and love.
Enjoy the clip:
The Atomic Bitchwax, “I’m Afraid of Americans” official video
So we did a Bowie cover last year for a tribute record on Main Man Records, Bob did all the programming, played everything and transposed it a whole step down so I could sing it. It’s totally different than what you would expect from a Bitchwax song and just a lot of fun to do.
During the lock down we put together a video for it. This in no way is a political statement, in fact the clips in the vid used were only in Bowie’s lifetime. We are just Bowie fans covering a Bowie tune.
BTW, our new Bitchwax record “Scorpio” was postponed till Aug 30th because of the world falling apart ,so stay tuned for a couple singles over the summer!
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 30th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Since guitarist Finn Ryan made official his departure from New Jersey stalwarts The Atomic Bitchwax — who in 2019 mark 20 years since the release of their 1999 self-titled debut (discussed here) — it’s been kind of assumed that the position would be filled by Garrett Sweeny, but hey, I’m a stickler for making things official, and the band has done just that. Sweeny joins founding bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik and drummer Bob Pantella, and is now the third member of the band to also play in Monster Magnet, where he’s held down lead guitar for the better part of a decade.
This lineup of The Atomic Bitchwax toured in Europe last year — there’s a full-set video from Desertfest London 2018 at the bottom of this post — and though Kosnik, Pantella and Sweeny all now have another band together, it will be interesting to see how things shake out in the Bitchwax proper. They’ll do a run of dates in April and May with Black Label Society and Conan that will mark their first US touring with Sweeny on guitar, and I’d expect more touring to follow as they continue to hammer out their new dynamic.
Quick welcome announcement and tour dates follow:
Hell yeah!!!Friends and fans please join us in welcoming Garrett Sweeny of Monster Magnet taking over lead guitar duties for Bitchwax this year!!
Great guy, awesome player! But you knew that already…. Welcome aboard G!!!!
The Atomic Bitchwax with Black Label Society and Conan: April 24 — Denver, Colo. @ The Oriental Theater April 25 — Denver, Colo. @ The Oriental Theater April 27 — Dallas, Texas @ Canton Hall April 28 — Dallas, Texas @ Canton Hall April 30 — Chicago, Ill. @ Concord Music Hall May 01 — Chicago, Ill. @ Concord Music Hall May 04 — Jacksonville, Fla. @ Welcome To Rockville May 06 — New York, N.Y. @ The Bowery Ballroom May 07 — New York, N.Y. @ The Bowery Ballroom May 11 — Rockingham, N.C. @ Epicenter May 14 — Toronto, Ontario @ Opera House May 15 — Toronto, Ontario @ Opera House May 17 — Columbus, Ohio @ Sonic Temple May 18 — Clarksville, Tenn. @ O’Connors May 22 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theatre May 23 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theatre
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 11th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
At the time, when Finn Ryan started playing guitar and singing in The Atomic Bitchwax alongside bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik and then-drummer Keith Ackerman — since replaced by Bob Pantella — the question was how the New Jersey-based three-piece would ever recover from the departure of guitarist Ed Mundell. Ryan, who did not participate in the Bitchwax‘s Summer 2018 European tour and today announces his own departure from the band, would play on five studio albums — the bulk of their catalog — and form a dynamic with Kosnik and Pantella in the studio and on stage that was largely unmatched. With an intent to get and stay clean, Ryan will look ahead to new projects.
Now also serving as the rhythm section of Monster Magnet, Kosnik and Pantella recruited that band’s lead guitarist, Garrett Sweeney, to fill the third spot on the last tour, but no word on whether that’s a permanent situation. The Atomic Bitchwax are just one of the Tee Pee Records acts slated to take part in Desertfest NYC 2019 next May.
I helped Ryan put together this announcement and was humbled to be asked to do so:
Guitarist Finn Ryan to Leave The Atomic Bitchwax
Guitarist/vocalist Finn Ryan of New Jersey-based heavy rockers has announced his departure from the band. Ryan, who also founded Core in 1996, joined The Atomic Bitchwax in 2005, revitalizing the band founded by bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik after a split with original guitarist Ed Mundell.
Ryan’s first album with The Atomic Bitchwax was 2005’s 3, and he would go on to play with them through the Boxriff EP/live album, 2008’s T4B, 2011’s The Local Fuzz, 2015’s Gravitron and 2017’s Force Field. Following The Local Fuzz, the three-piece of Kosnik, Ryan and drummer Bob Pantella commenced an album cycle of busier touring in the US, Europe and beyond, and Gravitron took on a harder-hitting, ultra-tight sound because of it.
Ryan did not participate in the band’s latest European run in July/August, ceding guitar duties to Garrett Sweeney (also Monster Magnet). He elaborates on the decision:
“After the last tour we did in the States, I decided to enter rehab for my addiction issues. For a long time, I have struggled with anxiety and depression which led to unhealthy coping methods. My situation became so critical that I had to enter treatment and unfortunately miss a European tour.
“While in treatment, I came to understand my health is the most important thing in my life, and, consequently, I have decided to take a step back and stop performing with The Atomic Bitchwax.”
The interplay of Ryan not only on guitar but in sharing vocal duties with Kosnik helped redefine The Atomic Bitchwax’s dynamic as unmistakable along the Eastern Seaboard or elsewhere. In 2013, Kosnik joined Pantella as a member of Monster Magnet, but still, The Atomic Bitchwax kept to a busy schedule of recording and touring.
“I’ve had an amazing last 13 years with Bob and Chris — two incredibly talented musicians and really great people,” Ryan notes. “I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting tons of awesome fans, and fellow musicians who have kindly reached out to me to show their support.”
Signed to Tee Pee Records, The Atomic Bitchwax have been confirmed for the lineup of the inaugural Desertfest New York in 2019. No word on whether Sweeney or another player will step into the guitarist role.
As for Ryan, he says, “With this new outlook on life, I plan on moving forward with my music, and am currently working on some new projects and always have room to consider working with other touring musicians. Anyone interested in getting in touch with me, can hit me up on Instagram at @FinnFRyan, and/or finnfryan@gmail.com.”
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 1st, 2018 by JJ Koczan
The moral of the story would seem to be it’s a busy summer coming up for The Atomic Bitchwax. The New Jersey-based stalwarts of headspinning riffery had already announced a North American run in June with The Sword, and now it seems that once that’s over, they’ll go home for a couple weeks and then head back out, this time to Europe, where they’ll take part in gigs alongside Yawning Man and 1000mods as well as the SonicBlast Moledo festival and others. The North American tour is presented by Tone Deaf, the European by Sound of Liberation.
They go, of course, in support of late-2017’s Force Field (review here) on Tee Pee Records, their seventh album and prove that the ferocity of their approach remains steady and that the three-piece have only grown tighter with all the road time they’ve put in over the last couple years. I could go on and on about that, but the bottom line is these guys are on fire right now, and if you miss them it’s at your own peril.
Here’s dates and such from the PR wire:
The Atomic Bitchwax – European Tour 2018!!
Still promoting their latest (and most badass!) album “Force Field”, released in December 2017 via Tee Pee Records, New Jersey’s The Atomic Bitchwax will return to Europe this summer!
Check-out the dates below, and plan your vacations accordingly! You don’t want to miss them if they come near your town!
The Atomic Bitchwax w/ The Sword: 6/07 Albuquerque NM @ Launchpad 6/08 Tucson AZ @ 191 Toole 6/09 San Diego CA @ Belly Up 6/11 Portland OR @ Wonder Ballroom 6/12 Bellingham WA @ Wild Buffalo 6/13 Vancouver BC @ Venue 6/15 Calgary AB @ Marquee 6/16 Edmonton AB @ Union Hall 6/17 Regina SK @ The Exchange 6/18 Winnipeg MB @ Pyramid 6/19 Chicago IL @ Thalia Hall 6/20 Cincinnati OH @ Bogart’s 6/22 Pittsburgh PA @ Mr Smalls Theatre 6/23 Washington DC @ Rock N’ Roll Hotel 6/24 New York NY @ Irving Plaza 6/26 Johnson City TN @ Capone’s 6/27 Nashville TN @ Exit/In 6/29 Hot Springs AR @ Maxine’s
The Atomic Bitchwax European tour: 20.07.18 (D) Cottbus | Zum Faulen August 21.07.18 (D) Siegen | Vortex 22.07.18 (NL) Leeuwarden | Welcome To The Village 23.07.18 (D) Karlsruhe | Alte Hackerei 25.07.18 (HUN) Budapest | A38 26.07.18 (CRO) Zagreb | Vintage Industrial Bar 27.07.18 (A) Ebensee | Kino Ebensee 29.07.18 (D) Munich | Backstage (*with 1000Mods) 30.07.18 (D) Dresden | Ostpol 31.07.18 (D) Wiesbaden | Schlachthof (*with Yawning Man) 01.08.18 (D) Berlin | Cassiopeia (*with Mammoth Mammoth) 02.08.18 (D) Hamburg | Hafenklang 03.08.18 (D) Beelen | Krach am Bach 04.08.18 (GR) Almiros | Los Almiros Festival 06.08.18 (UK) Coventry | The Phoenix 07.08.18 (UK) Glasgow | Audio 08.08.18 (UK) London | The Black Heart 09.08.18 (UK) Bristol | The Exchange 10.08.18 (B) Kortrijk | Alcatraz Festival 11.08.18 (PO) Moledo | Sonic Blast Moledo
There’s a moment at about 1:40 into the 2:26 ‘Hippie Speedball’ where founding bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik of The Atomic Bitchwax lets loose this quick run that will absolutely, 100 percent knock you on your ass. Should you be surprised? Hells bells, no. Shifting their audience out of an upright position — i.e., relocation to “on ass” — has become standard practice for the long-running New Jersey trio of Kosnik, guitarist/vocalist Finn Ryan and drummer Bob Pantella. Ever since their 2011 riff-splurge, The Local Fuzz (review here), and most definitely once they came around to 2015’s more aggressive Gravitron (review here), they’ve been recharged and completely on the attack. Late 2017’s Force Field (review here) is just the latest manifestation of this impulse that’s been at the heart of the band since their 1999 debut.
It may, however, also be the most badass manifestation. The Bitchwax have been around long enough that given fans are going to have given favorite records. Hey, that’s cool. But as the three-piece move forward with Force Field and get ready to hit the road supporting The Sword — funny, I recall seeing the two bands together in Jersey opening for Kyuss Lives! and The Atomic Bitchwax had Dave Witte filling in on drums; Black Cobra also played that night; weird show, but awesome — they do so at their most progressive moment. They seem at this point not only to be challenging themselves physically, as in, “Can we possibly play faster than this?,” but also as songwriters: “Can we write songs that speed by listeners in a blur but are still somehow memorable?” The answer, at least on Force Field, is a resounding yes.
To wit, “Hippie Speedball” is an unbridled beast of a track. Placed right at the open of Force Field it’s primed to shake even the least shakable of posterior chains, and the new video for the track, with clips out of old sci-fi movies, the band jamming out and good fun all around, could hardly do more to represent some of what works best about the record as a whole: excellent band, all cylinders, killer tune, hitting the road. How could you call that anything but a win?
I consider pretty much any time I get to post about The Atomic Bitchwax a favor to myself, so I’m extra thrilled today to be able to host the premiere of the “Hippie Speedball” clip, which you’ll find on the player below. The tour dates with The Sword and more info off the PR wire follow.
Enjoy:
The Atomic Bitchwax, “Hippie Speedball” official video premiere
Recorded at the Freakshop in Keyport, New Jersey, mixed at The Panic Room in Ocean, New Jersey and mastered by Alan Douches (CHELSEA WOLFE, TOMBS, THE OBSESSED), “Force Field” sees THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX’s high energy, scale-based guitar mangling hitting astronomical levels, with full stack amps pushing out dangerous levels of blown-out metallic mayhem. An awe-inducing tumult of head-down forward drive and top tier hard rock, “Force Field” mashes sci-fi and hi-fi, rocketing THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX into the outer reaches of the modern-day heavy music universe.
The Atomic Bitchwax w/ The Sword: 6/07 Albuquerque NM @ Launchpad 6/08 Tucson AZ @ 191 Toole 6/09 San Diego CA @ Belly Up 6/11 Portland OR @ Wonder Ballroom 6/12 Bellingham WA @ Wild Buffalo 6/13 Vancouver BC @ Venue 6/15 Calgary AB @ Marquee 6/16 Edmonton AB @ Union Hall 6/17 Regina SK @ The Exchange 6/18 Winnipeg MB @ Pyramid 6/19 Chicago IL @ Thalia Hall 6/20 Cincinnati OH @ Bogart’s 6/22 Pittsburgh PA @ Mr Smalls Theatre 6/23 Washington DC @ Rock N’ Roll Hotel 6/24 New York NY @ Irving Plaza 6/26 Johnson City TN @ Capone’s 6/27 Nashville TN @ Exit/In 6/29 Hot Springs AR @ Maxine’s
[Click play above to stream The Atomic Bitchwax’s Force Field in its entirety. Album is out Dec. 8 on Tee Pee Records.]
The seventh full-length from veteran New Jersey heavy rockers The Atomic Bitchwax would seem to mirror the mania of their work ethic over the last several years. That is, it’s ready to go. Released by Tee Pee Records and given the title Force Field, it continues a thread of hard-hitting, riff-bending, head-spinning vitality that one found typifying the personality of 2015’s Gravitron (review here), marked by the delivery of the band’s trademark hooks at blazing tempos and with a harder-edged production style than one found on their earlier material.
In hindsight, this thread may have begun on 2011’s The Local Fuzz (review here), which, in what seemed a reactionary move at the time, was comprised of a single-track instrumental riff-fest, essentially pummeling the listener with turn after turn for 40-odd minutes. Gravitron and Force Field — if their next album title doesn’t involve the word “plasma” somehow, I’m going to be personally disappointed; perhaps even “plasma inducer?” — make fitting complements to each other because of consistency of style between them, but both seem to have emerged at a sprint from out of where The Local Fuzz had positioned the three-piece of bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik, guitarist/vocalist Finn Ryan and drummer Bob Pantella.
It seems that in a way that couldn’t be appreciated at the time, The Local Fuzz could have been a pivotal moment in terms of the Bitchwax figuring out their course as this increasingly established lineup of the band took shape following Kosnik and Ryan first bringing in Pantella (known for his work in Monster Magnet, of which Kosnik is now also a member) on 2008’s TAB4, following Ryan‘s coming on board with 2005’s 3 (discussed here) — which, perhaps coincidentally, also boasted a track titled “Force Field.” In any case, where TAB4 demonstrated a sheen in its production and delved into more mid-paced and semi-psychedelic songwriting, nearly a decade later, The Atomic Bitchwax come across post-The Local Fuzz almost as a different band — they are supercharged, unforgivingly tight, and aggressive as they burn through Force Field‘s 12 tracks and 34 minutes, offering mere seconds of letup along the way.
And even those, relatively speaking, hit pretty hard. Eight of the 12 inclusions on Force Fieldclock in under the three-minute mark, and none of the rest touch four — the longest is “Alaskan Thunder Fuck” at 3:48 — and though the verse of “Crazy” seems to straighten out the otherwise winding style of riff that has been a hallmark of The Atomic Bitchwax‘s work since their 1999 self-titled debut and very much is here as well, a tense line of keys and, later in the track, tambourine, assure that the energy level is consistent with surrounding pieces like the full-boar “Shocker” and the instrumental “Fried, Dyed and Layin’ to the Side,” which follows.
If the effort the band has been fatigued at all by the uptick in touring they’ve undertaken in the US and abroad over the last several years, Force Fieldutterly refuses to show it. From opener “Hippie Speedball” through “Earth Shaker (Which Doobie U Be)” and into the landmark chorus of “Shell of a Man” and the unbridled scorch of “Houndstooth” and ‘Tits and Bones,” The Atomic Bitchwax execute fuzzy fury with precision and sound like a band with no time to waste on anything less than that.
Through this barrage — one might call it an “assault” were the tones not still so welcoming and their attention to melody still so much a factor in their approach overall — there are times where it seems like a miracle the songs manage to stay as memorable as they are, but in addition to the unshakable foundation of Pantella‘s drumming, variety in the arrangements of vocals between Kosnik and Ryan helps emphasize standout moments across what might otherwise be a totally blinding span, and beneath Force Field‘s surface, the complexity and nuance brought to its progressive turns prove that while it’s in a rush, it was not itself rushed in the making, which is a huge difference in the overall outcome.
As to that outcome, what one takes away from Force Field particularly in the context of Gravitron before it is how much The Atomic Bitchwax at this stage have managed to bridge the gap between classic boogie and the inherent intensity of the US East Coast. Songs like “Shocker” and the penultimate “Super Highway” aren’t shy about their punk aspects, but the groove even of a go-go-go-run-run-run piece like “Super Highway” or the preceding “Humble Brag” remains prevalent, even if one finds it overarching the quickened pulse, rather than resulting directly from, say a nod riff or undulating progression.
In that, it’s “Hippie Speedball” at the outset that sets the tone effectively by striking a balance between thrust and memorability that the band continues to proffer in dynamic fashion. Listening to Kosnik‘s run on bass under Ryan‘s solo during the first solo in the opener, the message regarding chemistry resounds, and the call and response in “Earth Shaker (Which Doobie U Be?)” only reinforces the idea, but the truth is it’s everywhere across Force Field how unreal this band has become in crafting songs that are both fiery and likely to leave a lasting impression.
As is their wont, they shake up their approach with the closer, and in this case, “Liv a Little” with its organ, synthesized-sounding handclaps, blown-out vocals and somewhat slower pacing recalls classic glam rock more than some of the psychedelia they’ve touched on in the past or the poppier vibes they’ve elicited in pieces like “Ice Age (Hey Baby)” from Gravitron, “Wreck You” from TAB4 or even the spacey “Half as Much” from 3. Even with the semi-shift in style, “Liv a Little” over in 2:42 as if to highlight the crispness of Force Field on the whole and the sheer will with which The Atomic Bitchwax at this stage in their tenure — nearly 20 years since forming, nearly 10 with this lineup — keep their material so lean and, indeed, forceful. Their style is utterly their own, and they sound like a band having a blast while pushing themselves physically and aesthetically. Accordingly, while dizzying, Force Field makes for an absolute joy of a listening experience.
