If you want to pin Bikini Beach down musically, you'd better train your hand-eye coordination. Because on their new album “Appetizer”, the Swiss/German trio rips open all kinds of genres, picks out what suits them and jumps straight to the next one. The only constants: A penchant for fuzz guitars and jingle bells and the reverbdrenched vocals of guitarist Nils Hagstrom and bassist Charlotte Love. The band expands on this garagey foundation with drummer-driven psych rock in “King Ueli”, swampy stoner in “Black Witches” or the surf set pieces of “Destiny”. The fact that this colorful, glittering package doesn't slip into arbitrariness and develops a hypnotic drive even in the quieter moments is testament to the trio's songwriting qualities. So: better leave the hammer and nails at home and give the band a hand with the chainsaw as they dismantle genre boundaries.
1. Nine2five
2. Traffic Lights
3. Disorder
4. Black Witches
5. She's So
6. King Ueli
7. Rabbit Hole
8. Destiny
9. Telephone
10. Animal Anger
11. Life Had No Meaning
12. Zwölfachtel