You Need Birthrite

Self-released, 2025, CD

The last time my path crossed with Birthrite they were operating as a two-piece band. Their latest long player, You Need Birthrite, has landed in my paws it looks as if there’s been a reconfiguration and these Black Country boys are currently performing as a quartet, and I must say it is a vast improvement. Not that there was anything wrong with the prior incarnation you understand, but a full band now gives the band the requisite punch and they put it to good use on these dozen tracks, which only goes to show: You Need Birthrite.

While there are undoubtedly some good young bands around, it seems that in their desire to strive for originality (undeniably a good quality) they’ve kind of lose the essence of what raunchy rock ‘n’ roll was about. Like me, you might be wondering where all the “hate, kill, destroy” (to quote Iggy Pop) has gone? Who are the natural heirs to The Stooges, Pistols and The Blasters? No one seems to be taking rock music and kicking it into shape, but that’s precisely where Birthrite step in. They’ve certainly put a tiger in their tank, and if you need proof you need look no further that opening shot ‘You Take Me Down’. It’s a high-octane burst of rock n’ roll that pushes all needles towards the red and leaves a smoky vapour trail in its wake. By going back to basics, Birthrite have succeeded in doing what many fail at, namely creating something original. The great thing about ‘You Take Me Down’ is that it doesn’t sound like anyone else as it tumbles down the stairs like a drunk at 3am. However, they haven’t completely torn up their roots and I can hear a little of early Adam And The Ants on the following ‘In A Corner Of My Mind’, but the edgier end (think ‘Ants Invasion’), it’s spiky and angular and gets under the skin like a bad case of formication. And of course, the band wear their Bowie influence on their collective sleeve for a cover of ‘Scary Monsters’, a track they tackle head on, impart their personality on proceedings and make it their own (which is how all covers should be handled).

There’s a kind of de-constructivism to the band’s sound; it’s a rowdy brand of rock that’s devoid of any extraneous frills. Yet, there’s something about parred back music that forces the players to be more creative; the limited palette of the Pistols’ Steve Jones is far more interesting than Eddie Van Halen, even though the latter is more technically proficient, the former has more of a “feel”, and that’s precisely the aesthetic going on here. So, you shouldn’t mistake the band’s stripped-down modus operandi for lack of invention, these songs are bursting with good ideas, both musically and lyrically (think a more coherent Mark E. Smith), and the band’s strong focus gives them a real forward motion, meaning the 45-minutes seem to pass in the blink of an eye.

You Need…Birthrite, now more than ever.

‘You Need Birthrite’ is available to purchase – here

Review courtesy of Pulse-Alternative Magazine.