Sterling, Virginia's Pygmy Lush's debut album serves as the culmination of every influence these young men have ever had, all wrapped around each other in what essentially sounds like a seasoned band covering a solid mixtape. Bitter River's 14 songs span nearly the entire underground/independent music spectrum, ranging from tracks that sound like The Black Heart Procession to Born Against to Tom Waits to The Jesus Lizard to Bob Dylan to One-Eyed God Prophesy to Nirvana to... you get the picture, right?

The five fellows of Pygmy Lush have cut their teeth in some of Northern Virginia's most influential punk/hardcore bands of the last decade or so, including Pg.99, Majority Rule, Malady, City of Caterpillar, Crestfallen, Hissing Choir, and many more. The CD version comes with a 16-page lyric book and two bonus tracks.