Bite the Bullet

Wheels

Written by: BV on 04/03/2015 15:53:16

There seems to be no shortage of riffs flowing out of Danish Bite the Bullet. Having released their debut full-length album in 2014, Bite the Bullet return once more with sophomore effort “Wheels”. Following in many of the same steps as its predecessor, it is once again driven by Paw Eriksen’s persistent guitars and Christian Norup’s driving bass grooves – thoroughly supplemented with the vocals that have become so easily identifiable as Thomas Storgaard Christiansen’s.

Album opener “Desire” opens with a heavy low-end groove and various rotating sounds in the background. The characteristic phrasings of the band show up less than a minute into the track, effectively eradicating any doubts as to who actually wrote this song. That, however, is where the next track, “Wheels”, is the odd one out in more than one sense. It’s mellow and somewhat piano driven and although it contains many of the elements one has come to associate with Bite the Bullet it does so in a less than immediate way – effectively spicing up a soundscape I thought I had pretty much figured out to the very core of things. It’s not their most interesting track ever, but it does help in adding extra flavor to a musical recipe that could have become quite dull as time would pass, had they not done something different with it.

“Road to Redemption” adds a beautiful texture to the album with its mid-tempo balladry. The softly sung vocals stand out at their strongest on this track and the ambient textures of the soundscape are performed with a sensitive touch far from the biting, snarling fuzz rock that most would have expected of this album. “I’ve Been Down” showcases something similar to the band’s earlier outings and is a welcome return to their roots as no-nonsense fuzz rockers with its thumping groove and thick guitars. It’s nice to see that Bite the Bullet have managed to expand their sound and cram that multitude of influences onto this album, but at times I’d be very happy to hear a bit more material similar to the songs found on their debut. In many ways however, “Wheels” seems to be a matured version of the devil-may-care fuzz rock evident on the band’s self-titled debut. It showcases a band in development – a rapid development at that, and it also bodes well for future releases from the band as their songwriting is apparently only growing more complex. The only thing I’d truly yearn for is for them to keep their fuzz rock essence intact on this developmental journey. I’d hate for that to get lost on their musical journey.

Download: Desire, Road to Redemption, I’ve Been Down
For the fans of: Highway Child, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Humble Pie
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.02.2015
Target Records


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