The Atomic Bitchwax - Force Field

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THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX  is a New Jersey band that was formed back in 1993 by bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik. Chris is also currently with MONSTER MAGNET as is fellow member Bob Pantella. Chris is the only original member of the band. Ed Mundell was replaced by Finn Ryan in 2005, and Bob replaced Keith Ackerman in 2007. Force Field in 2017 makes the bands seventh full length album following “Gravitron” in 2015, both released on Tee Pee records.

“Force Field” opens with a solid drum beat followed by an old school distorted guitar riff. By the time the vocals come in I felt very nostalgic. The bands sound harkens back to 60s and 70s rock, with its fast-paced guitars, with some distortion, energetic vocals, and solid beat. I couldn’t help but think of WOLFMOTHER while I listened, as THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX does what WOLFMOTHER does in capturing that older sound.  The album starts with the song “Hippie Speedball”. Throughout it has the colorful named tracks like “Alaskan Thunder Fuck”, “Fried, Dyed and Laying to the Side”, “Tits and Bones”, “Humble Brag”, and ends with “Liv A Little”. It is clear to see that the band has a knack for naming songs that grab your attention.

Unfortunately, the names of the songs are the most memorable part of this album. By no means is this a bad album, I personally listened to it from start to finish twice. It is one of those albums that you can turn on while you are doing something else and get energized to finish what ever you are working on. However, all the songs start to bleed together. THE  ATOMIC BITCHWAX  have a pretty unique sound for this day and age, but each of their songs are not unique from each other. The way the songs are put together, the tempo, and the energy seems to be continuous throughout the album. The one shining star of the album that doesn’t fall into the album monotony is the last song, “Liv A Little”. This song strays away from the formula of the other 11 songs to differentiate itself, yet staying true to the overall sound of the album. It is the song that if I was to put on this album to listen to I would immediately go to this song first.

Overall this is a decent album. As I said I feel the songs sound lose any uniqueness as the album goes on and start to sound very similar. It is one of those albums that you can play from beginning to end in the background and feel energized to get something done. However, if you were just listening without a distraction the sameness may make you search for something else to listen to. I think that with as good as the last song on the album is, that if THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX  had experimented just a little bit from song to song it may have changed an alright album into a great album.

Songwriting: 6
Originality: 7
Memorability: 6
Production: 8