Review | “the type of record that creates and crashes into its own universe” Bitch Falcon – Staring At Clocks

There isn’t a second of Staring At Clocks that goes to waste. This is the type of record that creates and crashes into its own universe, as Bitch Falcon deliver exhilarating music where every pulsating beat, thrash of guitar and brooding vocal snarl rushes by in the blink of an eye. 

The opening screech of ‘I’m Ready Now’ is defined sign of things to come. Cutting through with rumbling beats and urgent riffs, the track conveys the knife-edge tension upon which Staring At Clocks restlessly sits. Performed with Bitch Falcon’s signature bang and clatter dynamism, the song also asserts the control the band has over their tour de force music also seen in ‘Damp Breath’. 

This contortion of Bitch Falcon’s noise inflected milieu is at the core of Staring At Clocks success. While the album is all-encompassing in its tonal and sonic heft, the turbulent title-track, ragged glory of ‘Gaslight’ and bone-shaking ‘How Did I Know?’ never fall to the law of dimensioning returns. Instead, they find the band twisting their music into new shapes and tones. 

‘Martyr’ is at the centre of Staring At Clocks tidal intensity. From its intricate guitar work to it rattling drum beat and powerfully driven vocal, the song portrays Bitch Falcon’s ability to push and pull the outer limits of their dynamic core to create striking statements with sudden sonic twists and turns.

And so it goes, Bitch Falcon’s long-awaited debut is a thresher of sound that tears apart and reassembles itself throughout. From the opening to the ending, Staring At Clocks finds a way to maintain an ongoing taut tension. Although driven by an undercurrent of angular tones, restless beats and unrestrained vocals, the record is a testament to Bitch Falcon’s patience in creating it. The early power of their live shows is still there, but in the years building up to Staring At Clocks Bitch Falcon have found a way to focus it into a debut offering that is 2020 stand-out.