Child Bite is a rather eccentric sounding indie band out of Ferndale Michigan. On their most recent effort for Joyful Noise Recordings (a label that specializes in eccentric indie rock) entitled The Living Breathing Organ Summer the group brings together a distinct punk attitude and mixes that with the experimental sounds of Pere Ubu, The Jesus Lizard and The Dead Kennedys, especially when it comes to the vocals of CB vocalist/ guitarist Shawn Knight who definitely sounds like ex-Kennedy front man Jello Biafra has influenced his singing style.
Along with Knight the main culprits behind CB on this recording are guitarist Zack Norton, drummer Danny Sperry and bassist Sean Clancy. Knight comes across as someone who's in need of a serious dose of Ritalin to bring him down as the rest of the band tries to keep up with his spastic ranting via a healthy dose of jagged guitars and a downright sizzling rhythm section. However, all of their avant-garde style weirdness and adrenaline fueled riffage (and there is an abundance of both on display here) simply can't mask the fact that far too much of The Living Breathing Organ Summer sounds like the same song over and over again ad nauseam.
If you're heavily into indie / experimental rock and you're familiar with the roster of artists on the Joyful Noise label then chances are you may have already heard of Child Bite. I have to admit that this was my first exposure to the band and while I wouldn't consider The Living Breathing Summer to be a total write off, the unfortunate flip side to the coin is I can't honestly see it being anything more than one of those file it and forget it kind of albums.
Track Listing
1) Manacles
2) Odd Inn
3) Age Of Vacuum Trotters
4) Paws Perilous
5) Limpin' 'Round & Pussy Footin'
6) Organ Summer
7) Barks To Addle
8) Black Pyramid Mausoleum
9) Mates In Torso
10) Born With Both Parts
11) Savory Grandeur
12) Grotesque Holiday
13) Flags Of Vermillion
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