Itchy and the Nits

Reviews

Itchy and the Nits The Worst of LP

More stripped-down than a nudist on holiday, ITCHY AND THE NITS blast out twelve cuts of cave-beat rock’n’roll simplicity. Absolutely minimalist in their approach, it turns out that the “worst of” their output is actually pretty great. No time for bozos or searching around for that fourth chord, this power trio from Down Under gets straight to the point with their brand of budget rock bangers à la THEE HEADCOATEES or the DELMONAS. Not a single song breaks the two-minute threshold! Gritty, charming, and imminently replayable, there’s even a GIZMOS cover. What more could you possibly need?

Itchy and the Nits Itchy and the Nits cassette

Let’s not beat around the lousy, unkempt bush—this is one of the best releases I’ve listened to in a while! ITCHY AND THE NITS, a new-ish trio out of Sydney, pair Raffaelli-era DONNAS worship with Pink Flag minimalism, as though the MUMMIES’ brand of budget rock was too opulent since it failed to trim the fat on traditional song structures. There’s no excess here. The average track length hovers right at 1:20, and the album employs exactly one extremely locked-in drumbeat. It gives the impression that these girls aren’t here to fuck around…despite the fact that most of the seven tracks on this cassette are about someone having crabs or whatever. What’s wild is that it never even feels like a gimmick. It comes off more like they set out to write some songs, and this is just what they happened to have on their minds. Nothing but good dumb fun for scabby dumb punks! Bozos need not apply.