"Everyone has influences. Some people have influences that are obvious. The Unbearables have so many obvious influences packed into one album that the obviousness of the influences is completely irrevelant in context of the greater package. I mean, really - does it really matter if there's a little too much Weezer influence on an album that is named Just One Bite: Selections from "Bitten!: a Zombie Rock Odyssey"?Yes, you read that correctly. This CD is a concept album about zombies. But wait, there's more! These songs are only selections of a greater amount of songs that comprised an entire stage show. That's right. The Unbearables sat down and wrote a rock musical about a zombie invasion.
Not only did they write a musical about zombies, they outfitted the arrangements with much more than your normal rock ensemble. From the Zombie Girls Choir (which makes several astounding good - and astoundingly amusing - contributions to the album) to jubilant trumpet and trombone parts to spacey synths to tambourines, flugelhorns, farfisa and much more, this album is chock-full of intelligent arrangements that bring to mind more of a Sufjan Stevens style than pompous and kitschy musical theatre arrangements. The high-mindedness of their endeavors would fall flat on its face, however, if it weren't for the immense talent that the Unbearables bring to the table in the guitar/bass/drums arena. Like I said, there is a little bit too much Weezer influence in the fact that the guitars sound more like dinosaurs stomping through the world than zombies overtaking it, but the precision with which the drums and bass back up the domineering guitar lines is what takes the good songwriting and turns it into stellar songwriting."
Steve Carradini, Independent Clauses
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