It’s no shocker that I’m a fan of OC ska punks Bite Me Bambi. From declaring them Bad Ass Break-Outs back in 2020, to my rave of their live show last year. So how is the band’s latest album Eat This?
Simply a whole lotta of fun.
If you follow the band, few of these songs will be new to you, as most have been released as singles over the last couple years, or played live to stoke the fires. Tracks like their solid cover of The Offspring‘s “Want You Bad” to the dancehall rocker “Do the Damned” have gotten love on some of our NMF playlists, and for good reason. They are well-produced, well-written (though “Do the Damned” is using a familiar rhythm that Tim Armstrong also used in his single “Into Action”), and given great life by Tahlena Chikami’s powerhouse vocals.
While all the songs are built off a foundation of ska and pop-punk, the band isn’t afraid to draw from a number of classic stylistic influences. There’s the surf guitar intro and 60’s girl group backing vocals on “Girls Like You” that give it a classic aura, while “Like That” draws from R&B and doo-wop with it’s attitude-driven chorus.
The band leans into funk-pop on closer “Girls of Summer”, and shows off their bassist’s skills on the empowering “Bad Boyfriend” (I also love that Chikami is an equal-opportunity hater, calling out crappy guys and toxic women throughout the album). Of course, a ska band is only elevated by a solid horn section, and BMB’s does them proud on new songs like the excellent “Gaslighter’s Anthem”.
If No Doubt and Save Ferris are on constant rotation in your life, then you’ll want to include Bite Me Bambi’s Eat This into the mix. It’s out everywhere February 14th, and you can hear a couple of the singles here!
The Indy Review 