A fine taste of The Biters

Taking their cue from poppy glam (Slade, T. Rex), glammy punk (The Boys, Slaughter and the Dogs), and most obviously the almighty Cheap Trick, Atlanta's Biters take me back a decade to when bands like American Heartbreak and TSAR seemed poised to bring radio pop back to the radio. Sadly, it didn't quite turn out that way. But thanks to certain factors that did not yet exist ten years ago - like Facebook and satellite radio - The Biters actually could make it big. If you're holding it against them that they've got quite a buzz going or that they look "hip", you're missing the point entirely! Pop music is meant to be popular. Great pop songs are made to be heard. If The Biters end up posing for the cover of Rolling Stone and playing "Born to Cry" on American Idol, the world will be a far better place for it. For although there's a decidedly "modern" feel to the Biters' music, at heart these lads are like time travelers from a long-gone era in which great songs ruled over all else. The world needs more bands like The Biters.

The Biters' third EP All Chewed Up brings on seven more radio-ready hits that combine '70s glam-pop catchiness with a contemporary rock edge. If you're like me and can never get your fill of fist-pumping choruses, infectious melodies, and thunderous guitar riffs, you'll really appreciate the superior craftsmanship that went into these songs. Tuk and his mates know how to write a catchy tune, and they truly understand the art of the three-minute pop song. And while they look back to forefathers like Nielsen and Bolan for stylistic inspiration, their sound isn't "retro" so much as it is timeless. Sure, if you grew up in the day when the likes of Sweet and Thin Lizzy were chart-topping acts, songs like "Hold On" and "Breakin' Your Heart Again" will swiftly renew your faith in the future of rock and roll. But because there's something genuinely "current" about The Biters, I can see them winning over the younger demographics as well. They manage to take everything you loved about mid-'70s glam, first wave punk, and classic arena rock and put the proverbial "fresh spin" on all of it. Three EPs in, and they've yet to deliver a bad track. Sure, they're not revolutionizing music. But that's the whole point. Whatever happened to great songs on the radio? Who remembers a time when rock music was still fun? The Biters do, and they're bringing it back that way.

- L.R.

http://www.myspace.com/thebiters
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BITERS/177921643983
http://www.reverbnation.com/thebiters