1. Crucial
2. Spotlight Electricity
3. Hooked On Gasoline
4. Back Home (Fuck Home)
5. Female Shotgun
6. Lipstick Lover
7. Thrill Machine
8. No Good Solutions
9. The Hard Way
10. First Rule

Welcome to my first experience with Swiss rock: Bitch Queens have been around the block a few times, played an enormous amount of national and international, yet managed to stay under the radar since they started a few years back.

These guys are hardened songwriters and bring a very high-level blend of bluesy rock mixed with all that's speedy, raw and hard-hitting, in the vein of Gluecifer and the likes.

Much like the Ramones in their days, you don't get Bitch Queens' musical knowledge until you actually start listening to the structure of the songs. For "simple" music like this, they put a damn lot of thought in each and every riff, break and transgression.

"Crucial", "Spotlight Electricity" and "Hooked On Gasoline" have a huge blow-your-speakers touch to them, and left me wanting only more of the same.

However, "Back Home (Fuck Home)" takes a more melodic path than the first songs, with a bombastic chorus to match. I'm pretty sure this one's a killer on stage. Not to forget how quick the lyrics stick, which adds another advantage to seeing these guys live.

The title track of the album sounds like a lot of work was put in it. Once more, this one's more melodic than the opening tracks, but thrives more on groove and lead-backing vocals interaction. The chorus riff is pretty damn cool as well.

Right after this gem, "Lipstick Lover" drags the melody through the mud, working almost solely on hard beats and groovy chops. If you're into the whole trashy bluesy speedy rock n' roll like The Bones etc., go for this one first. It'll be killer!

"Thrill Machine" is a lightning fast anthem, again with great dialogue between backing and lead. This is probably where the band gets their punk label, even though it doesn't quite fit in my opinion. This is straight-forward, quick, hard and dirty, but comes from a basis that is miles apart from the purposely simple punk riffs.

"No Good Solutions" takes over, and got me thinking that Bitch Queens doesn't give you a breather until the album is done. Another pumping rocker that just keeps on going. Not a single "white space" in the song...

Time for the bluesiest song on the disc, "The Hard Way". This is not a live song, or at least not as much as the others, but it's genious in its atmosphere and feel. This is only confirmed by the lyrics, a perfect match for the slow, sometimes stoner-sounding music lines.

To finish in style, Bitch Queens launches "First Rule" at you, another blues rocker with balls bigger than the Beatles.

First rule is: we are better than you! They might be on to something there...