The 12 new songs by the four Swiss musicians show that a year without shows can also be creatively liberating.

The Bitch Queens have long since shed the last of their shame and are going their own way in the usual subculture-DIY manner: their own studio, their own label, their own festival - that's how Underground 2021 works.

Where, after years of self-regulation, the punk rock scene mostly spins around in circles uninspired and enviously shifts to genres that are now far more provocative, there's nothing better than bringing a breath of fresh air into the matter.

Technoid intro? No problem! 0815 middle finger lyrics? Too flat! With their usual self-irony, the four guys from Basel present their most versatile work so far, both lyrically and musically.

"Burn It Down", "Con Man Contraband" and "Ignorance Is Bliss" don't leave much room to breathe and they are breaking out the Corona-head with a joy of playing and an unusual aggressiveness.

The drummer of the band and mastermind for the lyrical outpourings of the Bitch Queens, also takes over the lead vocals on three songs and gives the album a new dynamic.

Their fifth album definitely brings a breath of fresh air to the well-educated denim frock-- scene from Switzerland to Norway.

Maybe because it is not so easy to show oneself the bare ass. But the self-experiments in front of the mirror also showed: The fun has a liberating effect! And once your reputation is ruined, you can play quite freely.

The hooklines in the studio never came out of their hips as relaxed and poppy as on "FU Emily" or "The Worst Thing".

Of course, the punk rock wheel is not reinvented - but when the Bitch Queens with such directness and a good portion of wink about anthroposophists, angry citizens, big business or as in "Brainwash Radio" about the over-subsidized soft rinse radio, they should have conquered the punk rock hearts at the latest.

What else is left but to turn the knob to 11 with a grin on your face and let the record spin to its end with pleasure until the hellishly beautiful "Sugar Balls"?