Review: Bad Touch – Bittersweet Satisfaction

Marshall Records (December 8^th 2023)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

Bad Touch, the blues rockers from Norfolk, return with their fifth studio album, their second on Marshall Records.

This collaboration with Marshall Records is certainly working, the production on ‘Bittersweet Satisfaction‘ is top notch (technical term) with a large soundscape, excellent separation and clarity from all band members.

I first became aware of Bad Touch back in 2016 with the release of ‘Truth Be Told‘ an album which, in my humble opinion, helped launch the ‘New Wave Of Classic Rock‘ movement. Whilst I really enjoy the band’s album output, live they take it up several notches, and it’s this that they need to capture on a studio album.

So does ‘Bittersweet Satisfaction‘ manage to do that? Yes is the simple answer, and I could offer as an explanation one thing to justify this answer, and that’s the title track. It delivers that trademark Bad Touch sound and song structure only it’s oh so much more. A toe tapper yes, as are all of the band’s songs, but this is huge, what a chorus!

The other nine tracks have a hell of a lot to do in order to compete, and thankfully they do. No light stuffing of the musical mattress going on here, you can here the progression whilst keeping those Bad Touch core values. This is a step up from 2020’s ‘Kiss The Sky‘ which was no weak release by any means, but it of course makes their next release an even bigger challenge, something I have no doubt they’ll accomplish in spades.

Saying that ‘Bittersweet Satisfaction‘ is highly recommended doesn’t really give the album the weight it deserves, all I can say is I’ve played the promo to death ever since it arrived in my inbox.

A must buy!

Track Listing:
1. Slip Away
2. This Life
3. Spend My Days
4. Bittersweet Satisfaction
5. Nothing Wrong With That
6. Taste This
7. Tonight
8. Come Back
9. See It To Believe It
10. Dizzy For You