Biters – All Chewed Up

Atlanta Georgia’s Biters brings to mind the Blacklist Royals if they had chosen to follow Bowie rather than Springsteen.  It’s clear that at their core they’re a good old-fashioned punk rock outfit, but that they’ve dedicated their lives to the beckoning howl of pureblood rock ‘n roll (they dress like The Rolling Stones).  On their seven song mini album, All Chewed Up, the quartet bares their teeth for a toe tapping, rhythm heavy ruckus sure to get even the harshest critics moving.

“Born To Cry” rips the album open to the playful barrage of drummer Joey’s quick trotting beats, followed by guitarist Matt Gabs’s stylized buzz.  It’s a little lighter than what lies ahead, but an attention-grabbing intro nonetheless.  When “The Boy’s Alright” follows up, all it takes is a few key riffs and dancing fingertips across a quick spread of piano keys to understand just what Biters sets out to accomplish.  The song’s timeless chorus repeats the track’s simple title to an echoing salvo of backing vocals that had me singing along upon first listen.  A track later on “Breakin Your Heart” and the same catchy, chorus-heavy formula continues demanding listener’s ears.

Much of the same propels the remainder of All Chewed Up, although the final track, “Rock n’ Roll Loser” deserves special consideration.  Toning down the tempo to close out the album, and shifting gears from the Biters’s leather-studded lifestyle to a revealing look at life after the party.  “What do you do? Where do you go when the party’s over?  There ain’t no rebel when you’ve lost your cause,” sings Tuk to fuzzy, mellowed out guitars and a regretful combination of piano and violin strokes.  The combined punch of somber subject matter and tonal departure points to a band with deeper qualities (like Butch Walker after his apartment fire) than their initial rock n’ roll battle cry lets on.

All Chewed Up starts off fairly simple, but evolves into something more ambitious by album end.  The band still sounds sonically simple in many regards – particularly their fixation on approachable, chorus-heavy structures – but they show enough polish and eventual complexity to warrant attention.  Should Biters continue turning out such tight tunes and pushing their song writing boundaries, they could stumble upon something remarkable.  In the mean time, All Chewed Up is plenty entertaining.