The First Book of Electricity

SBM001
Digital release December 5th 2010; 60 hand #'d tapes released January 2011 (out of print)
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Side A
1) Silver Medal in the 4/20 Olympics
2) In Absence
3) On Film
04) IRQ +49
05)Backwards History

Side B
06) Reduction
07) Downed
08) Next Province Over
09) Slip Away



Split about halfway between noise/drone pieces and noisy indie rock tunes. Most of this was recorded in my basement and bedroom over the summer of 2010, with a few songs coming from 2009 and a few songs coming from the end of autumn/start of winter 2010.

Devin Friesen: guitars, vocals, bass, keyboards, some drums, tapes.
Recorded and mixed by DF over 2009-2010 in the Library Basement.
Kevin Stebner plays drums on "Reduction" and "On Film".

Disquaire, journaliste musical et DJ à CJSW nul doute que Devin Friesen engloutit une diète hyperprotéinée de musique expérimentale. Redoutez-le donc lorsqu’il exerce ses muscles musicaux avec son projet solo Bitter Fictions. L’impressionnant The First Book of Electricity c40 explore une palette musicale sans égal, fondant un peu de chaque genre dans une espèce de super-alliage-expérimental. On y retrouve le art-rock déconstructiviste de Chrome incorporé du détachement et du rythme flâneur propre au rock alternatif du début des années 90. C’est un album qui parvient à se remettre en question continuellement sans dévier d’une trajectoire solide. Ne reste plus qu’à savoir quel est le lien avec apprendre les fondements de l’électricité aux enfants.
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With a CV that includes music critic, record store clerk and CJSW show host, there can be no doubt that Devin Friesen feasts on a high protein diet of noise-rock. Incidentally, beware the flexing of his musical muscles for solo moniker Bitter Fictions. Friesen’s impressive debut c40, The First Book of Electricity, offers an expansive musical palette, melting a bit of each genre into some sort of experimental super-alloy. Chrome’s deconstructionist art-rock comes to mind, yet channeled through the detached, sluggish pace of early ’90s alternative. Here is an album that manages to question itself while maintaining a rock-solid focus. Somehow, it all relates to teaching kids about electricity. - Gabriel Jasmin, Weird Canada

" [...] this is Devin's first solo outing and it's really really good. Like, great even. Catchy '90s drenched guitar abuse in the vein of Trumans Water or Pavement complete with era-perfect ennui'd vocals (no idea Devin could sing) with warm, lush bedroom drones sandwiched between. Lots of cool guitar textures here that play out over a couple of listens." - Kevin Boyer, Sloth Records

"Devin Friesen, previously familiar to me as Kevin Stebner’s roomate and an all around cool dude, is now familiar to me as the guitar peddle picasso that is Bitter Fictions. The First Book Of Electricity is a sunglassed dichotomy of mental guitar noises seesawed by New York City leather jacket 90′s pop. For those of you with a short wick for noise, skip ahead to “In Absence” and “Slip Away” and dig into the deep seated spirit of invention that surely lead Bitter Fictions to title its debut as it did. “Slip Away”, in particular, has a marvelous taxi cab home effect that could easily place itself in a Sofia Coppola film." - Joe Gurba, Argue Job