It Bites
High-octane art rock that fuses radio-ready eighties pop hooks with the restless complexity of progressive fusion. Bright, technical, and relentlessly catchy.
High-octane art rock that fuses radio-ready eighties pop hooks with the restless complexity of progressive fusion. Bright, technical, and relentlessly catchy.
It Bites sounds like a collision between a chart-topping new wave band and a group of jazz-fusion virtuosos who decided to write stadium anthems. The music is defined by a brilliant, crystalline sheen typical of high-end eighties production, but underneath the glossy surface lies a labyrinth of complex time signatures, intricate guitar tapping, and sophisticated harmonic shifts. It is music that demands attention while simultaneously inviting you to sing along.
What truly sets them apart is their refusal to choose between accessibility and technicality. While their neo-prog contemporaries were often looking back to the seventies, It Bites leaned into the modern sounds of their era, incorporating funk-inflected basslines and cutting-edge synth textures. The result is a sound that feels both intellectually stimulating and viscerally exciting, characterized by Francis Dunnery's acrobatic guitar work and soaring vocal melodies.
Start with 'Eat Me in St. Louis' for their most muscular, rock-oriented sound, or dive into 'Once Around the World' to experience their peak progressive ambitions. If you want the perfect three-minute distillation of their magic, 'Calling All the Heroes' remains the definitive entry point.
It Bites were an English progressive rock and pop fusion band, formed in Egremont, Cumbria, in 1982 and best known for their 1986 single "Calling All the Heroes", which gained them a Top 10 UK Singles Chart hit. Initially fronted by Francis Dunnery, the band recorded three studio albums before splitting in 1990. The band eventually reformed in 2006 with new frontman John Mitchell replacing Dunnery, recording two further studio albums before eventually going into hiatus in 2014 and quietly dissolving a decade later. Dunnery currently leads an intermittently active alternative version of the band called "It Bites FD" (featuring himself leading a varied set of other musicians.
Shares art rock, progressive rock, pop rock (subgenres); belting, harmonized, intense (vocal style)
Shares art rock, progressive rock, pop rock (subgenres); studio polished, maximalist, digital clarity (production style)
Shares art rock, progressive rock, pop rock (subgenres); studio polished, maximalist, layered dense (production style)
Shares art rock, progressive rock, pop rock (subgenres); confident, energetic, triumphant (moods)
Shares studio polished, maximalist, digital clarity (production style); energetic, playful, triumphant (moods)
Shares art rock, pop rock, new wave (subgenres); studio polished, maximalist, digital clarity (production style)
Shares art rock, progressive rock, pop rock (subgenres); studio polished, maximalist, layered dense (production style)
Shares studio polished, maximalist, digital clarity (production style); energetic, playful, confident (moods)
Shares studio polished, maximalist, digital clarity (production style); festival, road trip, summer (atmosphere)
Shares studio polished, maximalist, digital clarity (production style); art rock, progressive rock (subgenres)
Shares new wave, pop rock, art rock, maximalist (subgenre)
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