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From that wreckage, a five piece rock'n'roll group was born. The cast: a familiar gang of Cincinnati players fronted by Welsh expat Jamie Morrison. Motorbike began writing and recording their self-titled full length in 2022 at Jerri's Checkered Flag Studios. The resulting twenty-six minutes make up one of the best r'n'r records to ever come out of the Queen City. Motorbike sound discernably rugged and Midwestern. Loud, guitar-driven punk rock. Yet they can actually play more than three chords! From the hard-driving, rhythmic rush of "Throttle" - to the tuneful power-Brit-pop anthem, "Spring Grove", Motorbike are living life in the fast lane and ruling every last second of it. A perfect ratio of beer drinking to hell raising. The boys execute these nine tracks like a band that's been around for closer to ten years than just ONE! Words can only do so much justice to the sonic caliber of Motorbike and the mileage that their debut full length is going to track well into the future.
Our take: Debut release from this new punk/garage band from Cincinnati, Ohio on the ever-reliable Feel It Records. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume Motorbike was Australian, as their sound reminds me of contemporary Australian bands like Split System and Stiff Richards, bands that have a lot of the classic Aussie Saints / Radio Birdman in their sound, but streamlined and updated for the modern world of DIY punk and hardcore. Like Birdman, the songs are upbeat, but the grooves always sound slightly stoned, with the drummer playing behind in the beat in this way that exudes cool. It’s a winning formula, but when Motorbike marries that aesthetic to a big hook, it’s lethal. See “Spring Grove,” or especially the leadoff track “Motorbike,” whose intro riff might be the highlight of the whole record. Motorbike’s debut is worth a listen for anyone into high-energy, pop-inflected modern garage-punk.
Our take: Debut release from this new punk/garage band from Cincinnati, Ohio on the ever-reliable Feel It Records. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume Motorbike was Australian, as their sound reminds me of contemporary Australian bands like Split System and Stiff Richards, bands that have a lot of the classic Aussie Saints / Radio Birdman in their sound, but streamlined and updated for the modern world of DIY punk and hardcore. Like Birdman, the songs are upbeat, but the grooves always sound slightly stoned, with the drummer playing behind in the beat in this way that exudes cool. It’s a winning formula, but when Motorbike marries that aesthetic to a big hook, it’s lethal. See “Spring Grove,” or especially the leadoff track “Motorbike,” whose intro riff might be the highlight of the whole record. Motorbike’s debut is worth a listen for anyone into high-energy, pop-inflected modern garage-punk.