Bachelor of Arts is the full-length debut from Right Shitty.
Matt Carter | @M_J_C73
What the hell is going on in Saint John? I’m sitting here listening to Bachelor of Arts, the debut album from Saint John’s Right Shitty, and can’t help but feel a little envious over that city’s abundance of edgy, powerful rock and roll and the people who make it happen.
I first met Pat Bonner, Right Shitty’s drummer, last summer at a house show in Fredericton. Wild hair. Perma-grin. Another dude with a camera. Weeks later he reached out to Grid City with an article about improving the artistic relations between Saint John and Fredericton. My respect level shot up a few notches and since then we’ve become friends.
Fast forward to February. I get a message from Pat telling me the new album from his band, Right Shitty, is just about finished. He sneaks me some advanced tracks and I sit on them for a while. One of those, “Cool. New music I’ll have to check out soon”, kind of moments. Eventually, I got around to streaming a few tracks and thought they sounded pretty good. I made a note in my calendar to remind me not to lose his email in my cluttered and disorganized inbox. It didn’t help. I lost track of the email and for a time, the album and I remained separated.
And then last week I get an email from Saint John’s Monopolized Records, announcing the album’s March 25 release date. “Shit. I better get on that.” I finally made the time to sit down and give it a good old front-to-back listen. Easily the best 30 minutes of music I’ve heard this month. Also the most rewarding, like when you think you’re broke and then you find a twenty-sheet in your back pocket.
Bachelor of Arts is a huge album. It’s a statement of intent, read loud and clear for all to hear. The guitars are big and loose and at times, cleverly sloppy. And the band, solid and dynamic right to the last note.
Remember when everyone was wetting their pants over PUP’s debut album a few summers back? Bachelor of Arts could fall into a similar genre category but is a far better album. It’s a little heavy and a little poppy, yet delivered without all the gloss and sing-a-long bullshit that often accompanies that combination.
From the opening hum of Waterloo, through until the closing feedback of Brute Chise, Right Shitty show us just how much our have-not-province really has.
Finally, Monopolized Records deserve a shout-out for this record too. Only three releases deep but probably the most exciting label in the country at this very moment.
Right Shitty’s Bachelor of Arts will be available on limited-run compact disc and digitally, through Monopolizedrecords.com
Upcoming Shows:
TV Freaks | Right Shitty | Beard Springsteen | ReNeu Boutique | March 23 | 7:30 PM | $7 | View Event
