Something Bitter – New York City, New York, USA
Today’s essential audio-nutrient derives from the single premiere of Something Bitter and ‘The Black Mill’. Purveying ‘positively nihilistic fun-punk’ out of NYC, Something Bitter debuted into the latter part of 2022 with an EP I implore you to play catch up with, repeatedly. Cut with gruff, time-resistant melodic Punk-Rock filtered through the seminal legacy Post-Hardcore, the four-piece dynamically employ regular tempo changes powered by darts of jagged late ’90s Skate Punk. They finish this inviting bitterness with soulful vocals, cathartically expressing intelligent retrospection that is finally dusted with a playful, witty acuity. To be succinct, It Doesn’t Have To Be Now set an impressive benchmark. If you want to read more about the band, shuffle over to – Here.
Tomorrow is the day for the main release but now, ahead of that ominously wind-powered grindstone, you can stream ‘The Black Mill’ a day early!
‘The Black Mill’ confidently pushes a wash of layered guitars over a shameless brood of a baseline, one that in tone, hides just as little as the existentially worn tale of physical and mental ageing that is laid bare. Ramping up layers of Post-Hardcore imbued Punk, the band’s previous inclinations to the likes of Samiam and Hot Water Music are driven further home with that soulful Something Bitter urgency. The emotive guitars dart between each other, perfectly in sync with each of the four’s efforts ahead, doing so between and alongside swathe-cutting barrages of instrumental weight equating the earnest, forthright expression of ‘The Black Mill’.
‘Writing this was also a little different for us in terms of the creative process. Normally, one of us will come with a riff or a full song to practice, and what actually ends up being finished bears little resemblance to the original. Maybe a chord progression here, or a lick there. Alan brought this to us and it mostly survived unscathed. More than that, it’s really helped us settle into our sound for the new batch of songs we’re working on now.
The title is a reference to something the late, great Terry Pratchett said in an interview, about how life experiences are grist for what he called the Black Mill, which churns them into something creative after.’
Well, that was the single premiere of Something Bitter and ‘The Black Mill’. The band have plans to record this year so with luck, we will all have more of this resoundingly palatable bitterness in our lives again soon! You can find all things Something Bitter below and the pre-save for ‘The Black Mill’ – Here.
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