Die! Chihuahua Die! play some sort of highly-energized garage rock that, whilst not making for the most inspiring listen on record, undoubtedly put on a formidable and supremely fun live spectacle. Bitch Songs isn’t a bad album exactly; there’s enjoyment to be had over the course of its half-hour duration, but so relentless and unchanging is their sound throughout that unless you’ve got a big speaker system and plenty of room to fling yourself about, it’s difficult to get overly engrossed in the record.
The track titles tell you much about what’s on offer here, with the crude cliché of “Knife Sex” and “Action/Fuck/Action” particularly indicative of the dirty riff onslaught and that flicker of a twisted smile that lies behind it. The composition is far from complex, and admittedly could do with a slight kick of originality in places, but there’s almost a dependability about the compositional auto-pilot that makes it excusable – breakdowns arrive when a tempo switch is most needed, choruses unite fans in a furious collective gang-shout and fist-pump combo.
Credit to vocalist Paul Davis too. His frenzied wails certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste but the man never appears to stop for breath throughout the entirety of Bitch Songs; he’s seemingly intent on screaming himself into a deep coma and does a grand job in taking the album’s intensity up a notch.
I’m sure that anyone spilling over with love for the breed of music Die! Chihuahua Die! creates will find heaps to enjoy here (and even more so in the performance environment). Unfortunately, I doubt Bitch Songs shall be converting anyone less than convinced by the mindless adrenaline of the garage/punk mindset.
WHAT TO DO NOW?