Sterling, Virginia's PYGMY LUSH debut with an album serving as the culmination of every influence these fine young men have ever had, all wrapped around each other to create what essentially sounds like a seasoned band covering a solid mixtape. Bitter River is 16 songs that span nearly the entire underground/independent music spectrum... ranging from tracks that sound like THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION to BORN AGAINST to TOM WAITS to THE JESUS LIZARD to BOB DYLAN to ONE EYED GOD PROPHECY to NIRVANA to ... you get the picture, right? This is an incredibly varied album but it works surprisingly well, as the five fellows of PYGMY LUSH have cut their teeth on some of Northern Virginia's most influential punk/hardcore bands of the last decade or so including PG.99, MAJORITY RULE, MALADY, CITY OF CATERPILLAR, CRESTFALLEN, HISSING CHOIR and many more. The CD version comes with a 16-page lyric book and two bonus tracks not found on the vinyl.