Record Label: Joyful Noise
Genre: Noise
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

I was just thinking today that noisy post-punk bands seem to have vanished, just when we needed them the most in these awful days of bland emo and too-cool indie rock.

But then I listened to Child Bite’s new one, and now I’m not so sure that noise is the answer. Child Bite aren’t bad, but they don’t have the inventiveness to rise above the trappings of their genre. The first song “I Like Friends” is typical post-punk swirling noise and jerky, spazzy vocals. The next tune, and other tunes on the album, combine that sound with slow breakdowns and interludes.

Loud, brash noise is never fun; boring sludge is worse. Child Bite does show moments of semi-neatness, like the buzzing Wire-like instrumental “Gudavia” and the noisy but palatable “Body Buddies,” which could almost sound like the Polysics if the guitar was replaced by a Casio and the band by demented robots.

But for the most part, the band hasn’t yet shown that they can reinvent a wheel that’s been stuck too long in the mud. Noise can be interesting, but Child Bite continue to offer nothing worthwhile.

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