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Basht.: Bitter and Twisted
(Lab Records)
Vinyl/Download/Streaming
Out Now
Rising Irish rockers Basht. have delivered on their radiant promise with the striking new EP Bitter and Twisted, out now via Lab Records. Coming off a string of impressive support slots for Wunderhorse, Been Stellar, and bdrmm, the band are currently on a UK tour including appearances at Truck Festival and The Great Escape.
Produced by Richard McNamara of Embrace, this six-track EP highlights the band’s movement between moments of melodic brit-pop and urgent high octane alt-rock. Opening with the driving distorted strummed guitar of Vain, the band quickly set a 90s rock tone as punching drums capture the energy of the band’s live sound. Introducing the warmly gritty, pointed spoken word vocals, the track’s alt-rock backdrop is met with a post-punk flavour that gives the track an edge.
As the track builds as does the energy and intensity, ultimately delivering a sound captures the feel and expansive anthemic feel of the band’s live shows with a tight studio polish. Stockholm sets a darker tone thanks to the note selection of the intricately picked main guitar riff. Pulled forward by the thick backdrop of lightly distorted bass and drums, the track propels forward into the elegantly lazy, effortlessly cool vocal delivery. As the track progresses, the yearning undertones in the vocal delivery comes to the fore, building in conjunction with the music before the track reaches a feverish climax thanks to a clever variation on the chord structure and intense lead guitar work.
Elsewhere across the EP, Sacred Heart brings a more melodic touch to contrast the bands more visceral moments, while the brooding Burn brings a dark and grungy fizzer that brings together indie-rock accessibility with the band’s alt-rock grit.
Closing with Sirens, the EP closes an unexpectedly buoyant soundscape under the low range lead vocals to create a track akin to The Strokes. Feeling like a single from Is This It, the track closes things out on an unexpectedly bright musical note, which is ultimately reflected by the stylistic, cynical and effortlessly cool lyricism.
Raw and compelling, yet expensive and polished, the EP captures Basht. brilliantly. Emotionally attuned the poetic lyricism delivers a careful balance between vulnerability and defiance. The band explains: “Bitter and Twisted is a personal project that drags a lot of uncomfortable emotions into the light. I wanted to explore the messier side of being human, the pain we cause, the pain we carry, and how those two often get tangled. These songs are a reflection of my own struggles with identity, control, love, and the damage we sometimes mistake for connection.
This EP isn’t easy listening but it wasn’t meant to be. It’s a snapshot of emotional extremes, of the parts of ourselves we don’t usually say out loud. Bitter and Twisted is my way of confronting all of that loudly, honestly, and without looking away.”
Themes of identity, control, self-destruction, and the complexities of human connection echo throughout, framed in lines that are often deceptively catchy and gritty as to extinguish away from the painfully honest messages that the words carry.
With this release, Basht. have taken a major leap forward—delivering their most complete and compelling work to date. Bitter & Twisted is both a sonic assault and an emotional purge, the kind of record that announces a band not just finding their voice, but using it to speak uncomfortable truths at full volume.
Follow Basht.
All words by Simon Lucas-Hughes. More writing by Simon Lucas-Hughes can be found at his author’s archive.
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