Bitch Magnet
Ben Hur

THE REVIEW

An authentic monolithic block that embraces the East Coast noise-makers and the grungy flannel-clad folks geographically located a few states more to the West. Sooyoung Park speaks in a whisper, sometimes yells, and makes you ponder how it's possible to blend noise with complex and cerebral structures, with introspection, with sharp and irreparable violence, with purely artistic chaotic quirks.

Bitch Magnet's own placement is in the middle, a story born between Ohio and North Carolina but with echoes coming from Kentucky (in fact, they hired David Grubbs on a non-permanent basis) and with nods to New York and especially Chicago (which musician, producer, sound engineer, and jack-of-all-trades got into the driver's seat for their first mini-album?).

Let's therefore venture into other correspondences:

• "Ben Hur" is the missing link that connects "Tweez" and "Spiderland";
• "Ben Hur" is the definitive sound of the '80s and anticipates the compositional variety of the '90s...
• ...and vice versa;
• "Ben Hur" is "Frigid Stars" played by Unsane;
• "Ben Hur" is the nerds' album that nevertheless knows how to express brute force;
• "Ben Hur" is an unlucky record, because despite its compactness it fails to individually reach the peaks of the previous "Umber";
• ...of grunge and noise rock has already been written in the introduction;
• "Ben Hur" on Debaser, but also in the world, no one gives a damn about it.

In other words, this album is a compendium of what was and what then came within a well-defined American independent scene, but also an inspiration for other indie realities.

Actually, let's just say that this album might have the characteristics you were looking for.

Better yet: this album is beautiful.