This past September, Youthbitch released their first full-length LP, the tongue-twistingly titled Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch. The poster-style cover art portrays a cartoon teen pissing his pants and crying blood. It’s an image that turns out to be a pretty good summation of the music therein: delightfully rude, unashamedly adolescent, super fun punk. The entirety of this debut bursts appropriately with youthful energy from start to finish.
Through the lo-fi production quality and all the noise, there is some pretty excellent contemporary pop songwriting to be found here. Yet more often than not, flourishes of throwback rock and roll sound pay homage to legendary punk forefathers like the Cramps or the MC5. The catchy guitar hooks have surprisingly good sing-along potential, especially on the summery “Cool California.” While the snarling and shouted vocals that often exist more to keep the fun level up, the clean guitar solos provide a melodic anchor that makes this wild punk music accessible to any rock fan who isn’t afraid to .
Check out Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch Youthbitch on Bandcamp, or head over to Gnar Tapes to buy it on cassette, which is probably the way oft notalgia- tinged Youthbitch intended you to hear it.
–Will Mehigan