Pygmy Lush - Bitter River

Pygmy Lush
Bitter River
(08.2007, Robotic Empire)
8.0/10.0

I have been rightly accused of being flippant in my use of the word pop; more specifically, the use of the term "pop gem". Sorry. However, with Pygmy Lush's debut (finally!), Bitter River, I won't have to stoop to such inane, useless terminology. Pygmy Lush is the most recent incarnation from a core of musicians that seem bent on cyclically creating forward thinking new bands and then quickly disbanding them. The band contains alumni from PG. 99, City of Caterpillar and Malady, among others. With each new band has come a new genre injected with the member's punk-hardcore roots. Pygmy Lush is no different, and, if anything, even more ambitious in its punk-hardcore experimentations than any of its predecessors. In fact, Bitter River may be the product of too many ideas. The debut sees the band mining dusty, outsider folk, grindcore, post-hardcore desert rock and even a foray into ambient drone. The wild part is that even with their suffocating ambition and inability to commit whole heartedly to any particular muse, the album somehow maintains its stitching and is quite enjoyable from beginning to end. It may not match the singular, life altering vision of some of their previous works, however, Bitter River contains a lo-brow glory that is as exciting as it is disjointed and shouldn't be missed.

-Mr. Thistle

Pygmy Lush - "Bitter River"