(Big Hassle) Temporary Residence Limited has announced plans to rerelease the complete studio recordings from pioneering post-punk icons Bitch Magnet. The announcement follows the news that Bitch Magnet's original recorded lineup will reunite to perform -- for the first time since 1989 -- at All Tomorrow's Parties' "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival on December 10, 2011.
On November 15, Temporary Residence will package Bitch Magnet's three albums - Star Booty, Umber, and Ben Hur - as a deluxe, limited edition triple-LP set and as a triple CD.
The reissues will also include songs that have never appeared on CD or LP, and a collection of previously unreleased studio recordings newly mixed in October 2010 with John Congleton (Explosions In The Sky, The Walkmen). The albums are remastered from the original analog master tapes.
"Bitch Magnet was a watershed band, both for me and for underground music of the 80's and '90's. They had a big hand in challenging and redefining punk rock at a very pivotal time, and laid the groundwork for a template that seems downright institutional at this point," said Jeremy deVine, owner of Temporary Residence Ltd. "It is an enormous honor to be a part of re-introducing these vital recordings to longtime fans and to the uninitiated."
"Were it not for the endless patience of Temporary Residence, which first approached us sometime during the Bush administration, this would not be happening," said Bitch Magnet guitarist Jon Fine.
"Also, we owe a big debt to our friends and family across the US, whose residences housed Bitch Magnet master tapes for all these years. We're totally grateful they never quite got around to throwing them out."
Bitch Magnet was formed by bassist/vocalist Sooyoung Park and Fine at Oberlin College in 1986; drummer Orestes Morfin joined shortly thereafter. Immediately following the release of its debut Star Booty in 1988, the band garnered rapturous reviews and established itself among the top-tier of America's independent music underground. The band's reputation continued to grow with tours of the US and Europe, and the subsequent releases of Umber (prominently included by Mojo on its list of "Lost Albums You Must Own") in 1989 and Ben Hur in 1990. The latter two have been frequently cited as a key inspiration for what would become known as "post-rock," a term that baffled and amused the members of Bitch Magnet when it first surfaced, and still does today.
Along with their contemporaries in Slint, in the years following their breakup, Bitch Magnet has been recognized as a significant influence on generations of aggressive and musically complex bands,
including Don Caballero, Mogwai, Rodan, June of 44 and Battles.
"Probably more than any other band, Bitch Magnet sent me in the direction I took with the music I have tried to make," said Battles' Ian Williams, whose band's invitation to play at All Tomorrow's Parties coaxed Bitch Magnet out of retirement.
In addition to its upcoming performance at All Tomorrow's Parties, Bitch Magnet plan to play a handful of shows in Europe and Asia in the coming months. Details will follow as they become available, on Bitch Magnet's Facebook page and via its @bitchmagnet twitter feed.
