Album Review: Biitchseat – ‘To Name All the Bees in the Backyard’
Posted: by The Editor
To Name All the Bees in the Backyard is more than just a debut record. For Cleveland rockstars Biitchseat, it’s a personal account of a tough time. Coming from a place of grief and support, the 10 tracks capture Biitchseat’s punk-infused passionate rock, keeping energy high.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing the women’s bathroom in a bar or club, let me break it down: you make friends, get a pep talk, and maybe even cry a little. Who wouldn’t want that kind of support? “Bathroom,” record opener, totally gets it. The song and corresponding music video are a fun declaration and celebration of friendship, support, and shotgunning beers, which I still can’t do.
The punchy, catchy track is one of the various moments throughout the record I caught myself muttering “same” to myself. Single “Participation Trophy” is another prime example. Anecdotes of realizing but not acting upon needing to go to the gym, inability to pay bills, and eating Chipotle three times a week (If I get guac, it’s $2 more, but it’s healthier, right?) are all too vivid on top of a buzzing, energetic electric riff. Sometimes, at the end of the week, you have to drink a Naturday because it’s all you have left and think, “Hey look, I tried-where’s my participation trophy?”
All you can do in life is try your best in the face of adversity. Title track, “To Name All the Bees in the Backyard (For Barry),” is a vulnerable one, about dealing with grief. One of the most beautiful tracks on the album, it looks at what happens when the people closest to you grow old and are affected by things out of your control. And realizing that you are aging too, but cherishing the moments that makes life beautiful.
“Karaoke Machine” has a similar theme of reminiscing about “missing everything” about the past. The intensity builds with the instruments as the lyrics open up even more. Riffs in this one are controlled and rolling throughout, like “Natty Boh,” an amazingly-titled track about opening up in a relationship.
As a record, To Name All the Bees in the Backyard is a perfectly knit package of everything that rocks about Biitchseat and everything that’s pungent about life. Though incredibly personal, you can fit these songs into pockets of your own life. The small moments like making a new friend in line at the women’s bathroom, flipping the bird to shitty white men, watching your parents deal with things they don’t deserve, and admitting Natty Light isn’t the worst drink in the world. It’s a labor of love, emotion, friendship, and amazing rock.
Disappointing / Average / Good / Great / Phenomenal
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Kayla Carmichael // @kaylacarmicheal
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