Blogs N' Roses: The Strange Avenues Bacchanalia EP Review

The Strange Avenues Bacchanalia EP Review

Do I even remember how to do a review? It has been so long, let's see if this is like jumping back on a bike or jumping on a bike with no seat. The first band back is The Strange Avenues with their Bacchanalia EP. That word is terribly difficult to spell.

The band is essentially a twosome from Mike Patton of Pretty Little Suicide and Mike Fitz of Who the Fuck Knows. Google was weak on returning proper results on Mike Fitz except the Michael Fitz (Registered sex offender). Could be the same guy, but I have no idea. Mike if you were in a band prior to The Strange Avenues, let me know.

Mike's band Pretty Little Suicide (review here) is fantastic and became one of my favorites from last year. Pretty Little Suicide is on a Pretty Little Hiatus as the lead singer recovers from that penile extension surgery he flew to Malaysia for. This allowed the creative juices flow for Mike and Mike. Thus The Strange Avenues were born.

I find the EP lacking in a general direction. At times it whats to be a bluesy drift song (Passing Time), but then drops into a thick heavy, plodding malaise (Queen of Hearts). After listening to the EP, I still can't really tell you what went on. There were some highlights (I Don't Care and Silver Dreams), perhaps glimpses more of influences. But the low parts miss for me badly.

A punk inspired I Don't Care has growling lyrics, sing song choruses, and that great punk guitar sound. The song has an urgent guitar solo and crunching rhythm guitar to accentuate the punk attitude about sisters fucking brothers. This song is a clear standout knowing the history with Pretty Little Suicide.

Another standout song, Silver Dreams. Mike sounds like he spent the night clutching Jack Daniels, rolled out of the gutter and sang this song in one take. It's raw, guttural, and makes me want to lick ashtrays and piss razors. It's that dirty and nasty.

The production is stripped down, but you can this EP is a labor of love for Mike and Mike. The minimalistic production, forgoing pompous over production and instead choosing a garage/basement production. It's a smart choice.

A song I just can't get into is Till I Find It. The backing music is good with a solid chugging riff, but the vocals kill this song. I also found the guitar solo predictable. One thing I like about guitar solos is to be following along with it and then getting pulled into an entirely different direction. A solo like I Don't Care does that. "Oh shit they just went there with that." Till I Find It, doesn't do that.

Bacchanalia is a side project and sounds like it. While there are some standouts on the EP, there are also some duds. You can check out some of the tunes here and buy the EP here. I would recommend buying Silver Dreams and I Don't Care. They are solid songs that I have rolled into my every day playlist.

I give the EP three wet pussies. You are going to have to do a lot of work with your date and might need to use lube or digital insertion to get her ready.