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Reviews

The Bittersweets — Lesson One
(Apollon Records That's Entertainment THEN 029, 1995/2023, CD / LP / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2023-05-08

Lesson One Cover art

Are you ready to RUMBLE? Then spin the vinyl reissue of Norwegian garage punk rockers The Bittersweets’ Lesson One on your turntable for 39 minutes of exhilarating melodic garage rock and pop punk along the lines of The Ramones. And just in case you missed all the references, hooks, chord progressions, etc. The Bittersweets make it obvious to you on “I’m Gonna Miss the Ramones.” The raw visceral power of distorted guitars and savage rhythms keep you engaged throughout the twelve songs. The Bittersweets started as a group in 1995 as  a side project by John Martinsen (guitar) and Aren Thelin (vocals and harmonica), both had songs that did not fit in with their bands at the time. So they enlisted the help of Thomas Dahl (drums, vocals, and guitar), Lars Dehli Jensrud (organ and vocals), Bjørn Haukaas (bass and vocals), and Kåre Pedersen (guitar) to form The Bittersweets. They booked the studio and recorded Lesson One over two weeks in 1996, releasing the album on CD in the summer of 1996. Life got in the way, and they never recorded a second album. Now Apollon Records has reissued a remastered album for the first time on vinyl. In my opinion, the best of the twelve songs are “I Surrender” and the aforementioned “I’m Gonna Miss the Ramones.” They are taking no prisoners  on this album and all I can say after the final notes fade away is “Whew!” What a ride!  You can easily visualize The Bittersweets playing in a packed club with the crowd rocking out. It certainly is a shame that they never were able to get it together for a second album. At least now those of us who missed hearing Lesson One in 1996 can now experience it for the first time.

Filed under: Reissues, 2023 releases, 1995 recordings

Related artist(s): The Bittersweets

More info
http://the-bittersweets.bandcamp.com/album/lesson-one

 

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