As far as vintage riff rock goes, Tee Pee records seem to be putting out the cream of the crop lately. This is no exception with The Atomic Bitchwax‘s new record TAB 4, an appropriately titled 11-song trip back to the 1970’s.
The record opens up with the sweet licks of Revival, a medley of guitar and vocal harmonies sending you into outer space. We’re then thrust into Super Computer, an instrumental that appeared surprisingly early in the album. The Atomic Bitchwax don’t want to ease you in, they set the pace right away and if you don’t like it then don’t listen. You will like it though, and you’ll find yourself jamming the air guitar by the time Don’t Do It kicks in.
The record is extremely retrofied, sounding like vintage Rush, Cream and Deep Purple. They may not strike a chord with the younger generation but the oldies can definitely dig it. Nonetheless I think the music is still quite relevant, bands like Wolfmother and early Kings of Leon gained plenty of success ripping off the aforementioned bands.
The music is played in quite an updated fashion however, throwing in a bit of progressive rock now and again. You’re never short of a face melting solo in the songs; so musicians will appreciate the shit out of it, as TAB seem to be a talented bunch. They tend to keep in with the whimsical themes that the classics used, but if that’s your cup of tea then TAB should be too.
TAB 4 is a very listenable album and if you like your rock and roll vintage then I definitely suggest you check it out. The complex polyrhythms will never leave you bored as there’s always something working your brain. The Atomic Bitchwax are one of those bands you will find yourself tapping your feet along too, and if they were around 40 years ago they’d be up there with the classics. For now they will just have to be part of the revival, but I say the best of luck to them!
Jonathan Teggert