Lithe and catchy without compromising connection to its core rage and abrasiveness, confrontational yet empathetic, familiar in parts yet fresh and new as a whole, the latest “Along Came a Bastard” 7-inch courtesy Bitter Branches is essentially everything one could hope for from a band fronted by living legend Tim Singer (Deadguy*, Kiss It Goodbye, No Escape) and backed by a murderer’s row of underground players — guitarists Matt Ryan (Calvary) and Kevin Sommerville (Lighten Up!), bassist Brian Kantorek (Go! For The Throat, The Curse), drummer Jeff Tirabassi (Walleye)…
Which is to say, the vibe is something like the best, most liberated eras of Rollins Band cross-pollinated with that quickly-coming-unhinged Kiss it Goodbye attack and noisy punk drive. Unleashed is a good word. Vitriolic catharsis en route (hopefully!) positive evolution.
“The intent of this band is to explore creating music the way our ‘Fuck You Heroes’ did,” Tirabassi tells Decibel. “Throw out any hang ups and put your neck out there. We found out through the process we still had something to say musically, lyrically and creatively because the shit that pissed us off as youth still rings true today. The same clowns exist — they just wear different makeup and different outfits. Plus, it was clear early on when Tim entered the fold that we needed to change the early foundation we laid on our first demo and tailor the music to allow him to do his thing. Consequently, that gave us the chance to embrace deeper influences beyond melodic hardcore like Verbal Assault, Rites Of Spring and Dag Nasty to include the aggression of Black Flag, early Sub Pop, Touch & Go, Am Rep, Gang of Four and Siouxsie.”
Check out the EP directly below and then dig a little deeper into both tracks with guidance from Tirabassi and Singer.
“A little background on the writing process for these songs,” Tirabassi says.”The phrase ‘when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade’ comes to mind. 2020 handed us Covid and we used the lockdowns to write an album. As soon as we released our debut EP and without the extraneous distractions of preparing and playing shows, we were able to get in the room, keep our noses in our books and go to work. We learned a lot about each other’s strengths and processes and used that knowledge to write and record eleven original songs and two covers in a year. We were driven and goal-oriented for sure. Besides our immediate families, we didn’t see anyone but each other throughout the process. And we’re super stoked to have Dan and the Equal Vision Records team come along for the ride.”
First up, “Along Came a Bastard,” with its updated, shades of “What If”-esque take on law over-enforcement.
“We need to flip the premise,” Singer says. “Instead of talking about ‘bad apples’ we need to come at it from the angle of: We are only as good as our worst actors. That’s the only path to change. If you join a shitty organization with shitty practices, you are now part of the problem no matter how nice of a guy you might be.”
“We are shown a persistent news cycle of ‘bad cops’ killing unarmed African American male or females, protests erupt, more violence surrounds these gatherings, cops say ‘I’m sorry’ and we move on to the next topic,” Tirabassi adds. “This is not a broken system, it’s historically fixed against the poor and disenfranchised from jump street.”
“Fraudulent,” meanwhile, focuses on inner demons.
“It’s basically about impostor syndrome — that feeling that you are full of shit and pretty soon everyone is going to find out,” Singer says. “We all go through the motions and put on useless facades depending on who is in the room and who we want or need to impress. Been trying to overcome that shitty instinct my whole life to varying degrees of success. It helps to surround yourself with people who actually know and understand the ‘real’ you.
“There are a few parallel themes Tim uses as a baseline for lyrics on this record that cycle back to what got us here in the first place and the music that helped steer that path,” Tirabassi says. “This is a great example of that.”
* Deadguy reunites at upcoming Decibel Metal & Beer fests in both Philadelphia and Los Angeles!
Bitter Branches Tour Dates
8/14 – Providence, RI at Simmons Farm w/ Wrong War, Bulletproof Backpack & more
8/15 – Philadelphia, PA at Creep Records w/ School Drugs & Wrong War
9/18 – Pawtucket, RI w/ Verbal Assault, The FU’s & more
9/22 – Garwood, NJ at Crossroads w/ Boysetsfire & All Else Failed
