Review: Bitchin' Wheels—Bitchin' Wheels

Fourteen years is a long, long time. That’s how long it took Steve Phillips’ band and brain child Bitchin’ Wheels to record their debut album. In 1986 the outfit toured relentlessly until they decided it was about time to do a record. Phillips claims that the making of this CD did cost a few million dollars over the years, was taped on three different continents and was rejected by all major labels when finished after more than a decade. For a guy who claims "to be really disillusioned" the sound is very fun oriented. Almost forgotten bands like the Slickee Boys, the Ramones or the Jam come to mind. Sound from a time when punk and power pop were sort of getting to like each other at last. All very rough and highly rhythmic. Cool is the word for the album. As if Phillips wanted his music to be the soundtrack for an upcoming Quentin Tarantino movie. Never be boring; always be entertaining, that seems to be the motto of the band. As a consequence all ten songs are brief, vigorous and almost over before you were able to figure them out at all. The always razor sharp guitars and the gutsy vocals make this a very entertaining affair. Bitchin’ Wheels has all the right attributes of a very crowd-pleasing band. They must be enjoying themselves hugely with playful anthems like "Hollywood Killed Elvis" or "My Life Is Most Perfect." This gorgeous party music is meant to be played loudly!—Michael Gasser