Some Reviews of DYIN' TO BE JESUS:

"the worst thing I've heard since my cat got stuck in the garbage disposal." - INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH

"itch irritate with lyrics as intense as their music." - VOX (UK)

"Anti-religious, anti-government, anti-corporate & pre-Marvel Comics rock noise. Genius lyrics ... a record to listen to forever & ever." - FLIPSIDE

"I scratched so much I left a bloody mess in my tape deck - it just felt too good to stop." - SNIPE HUNT

"Mixing punk & performance art, progressive rock & metal just begins to tap into the furious energy & craziness of itch." - B SIDE

"This record contains the fastest keyboard playing I've ever heard & it doesn't suck either." - MAXIMUMROCKNROLL

"Punk finally has its Jerry Lee Lewis." - OPTION

"Hail the new boogie-woogie-core!" - SELECT (UK)

"Mark Critchley pounds on the ivory like Schroeder gone wild... No one is safe from these music pranksters..." - CREEM

"itchin' to be Jesus, or whatever the hell this crime against society is called, should be integrated into the capital punishment system in Texas." - ANTI-MATTER

"I still don't think I've grasped even a part of what's in this release, but I keep going back for more, entering this strange, sometimes shocking world nearly alone, accompanied only by a dictionary, a bible of cultural references, & the emergency pager number of a competent therapist." - THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT

"There are hints of a greater synthesis to come, one in which classical discipline & primal fury find some sort of union on the keys." - KEYBOARD

"itch: energy with elegance, & thrash with true class." - MELODY MAKER

Review selection for PULL THE WOOL:

"This is a work of totally umpretentious majesty, and one of my favorite records of '94. "Eclectic" doesn't begin to describe the music - and I'm not even sure I can. The one constant thing throughout any given song is usually the tempo, but other than that, anything goes. The songs charge forward, switching time signatures, taking some sharp corners and crashing through bizarre rhythmic transitions, but never letting up on the rapid-fire tempos. This may sound like record review hyperbole, but seriously, this album is extreme." THICKER

"This is the most original album I've heard all year; I think one has to be an open-minded music lover to appreciate itch, and no, liking music labeled alternative is no guarantee. There are no sing along choruses, almost no hooks, but there's also no generic crap either. Nothing about itch is in the least formulaic. Catchy piano and springy noisemaking, with fuzzy guitar, really entertaining lyrics, and tempo changes which are sometimes disorientingly abrupt characterize itch's music."

"...it's refreshing to hear something truly original. ..and with itch he's achieved something few other popular bands have: an incredible amount of musical skill double up with a brilliance in originality." THE SUBTERRANEAN

"A jack of all trades, itch skips all over the musical map like no one since Frank Zappa decided to unleash himself on the world." THRUST

"Cross the searing rants of Jello Biafra with the delivery of They Might Be Giants, and add the punk rock franticness of high-speed Suicidal Tendencies and you get ITCH." PIT REPORT

"I like smart bands. Ever wonder what Scientists sound like playing punk music... Caution not to be Aerobicized to with out doctor's consent." RENEGADE ONE REPORT

"Pull The Wool is not only a great Liberace meets Jello Biafra mutation, but it is thematically taking on the world of genetic research, as well." THE CHART

"To call this Liberace-meets-Band of Susans score progressive punk would belittle its dense paranoiac cheekiness. There is no greater joy than discovering a bold visionary joker." NOW

"To be honest, I don't know what the fuck to think." SNIPEHUNT

"What else could you ask for? A boot to the ears, head and heart all at once." CHAOS

Review Selection of MY JERUSALEM:

"This lil' gold platter represents two distinct sides (like a good single should) of this Vancouver combo's talent for shit-kicking smarts. Side A takes on Walt Disney, the history of Christendom, and religious hate in the holy city itself. Itch will leave you scratchin' your head on this thrashed up question and then some more on side B where Mark Crtichley rolls merrily upon a period synth for a truly schiz B-side. Thoroughly engaging music from thoughtful and provoking persons. Buy it so they can get on the road again, OK?" EXCLAIM

"My Jerusalem is a real roller-coaster ride, and I'm just looking at the sleeve! It's filled with all kinds of symbolism that Mark tried to explain to me but I got lost after the first sentence. Musically, it still contains that great hybrid of Mark's classical training with his more avant garde and rock leanings. In fact, a lot of the time changes are downright metallic. ... You can't go wrong, even if that is the name of the label." THE CHART

Reviews of itch Shows:

"itch, one of the fiercest bands to come from the West Coast since NoMeansNo, was last on. ...Mark Critchley and his dynamic duo tore into a ripping set of flailing keys, hair and drum sticks. Not only playing the more stylized jazzier tunes from their latest, Pull the Wool, they also managed the classics from their debut Dying To Be Jesus. But the runaway hit of the evening for this cannibis corps was "Energy Vampire," which was what should have happened to hardcore." EXCLAIM

"...but the ear-grabber was itch's richly-textured, tightly-structured industrial noise. The itch rhythm secion is like a cannon barrage; when the band slows down, the music sounds like beat-driven progressive rock, sort of like Yes as conducted by Frank Zappa after eight cups of coffee. This band will break many, many guitar strings down the road." GEORGIA STRAIGHT

"Critchley's spasmodic keyboard poundings and herky-jerky vocals were something to behold - only Johns' weightless leaps commanded more attention." NOW

"Can you say tight? I was saying it all night. Very impressive unity: it's amazing how excellent musicians can bring music to life, making it twist and turn and become an entity you can almost see, and one you can certainly feel." TERMINAL CITY

"The left-coasters had many in attendance scratching their heads over their energetic fusion of progressive metal and power pop - not to mention the spacey jams that occupied a number of segments, nor the fact that frontguys Mark Critchley and Kelly Johns didn't shrink from putting on a show in the process. ...But bet on these guys coming back soon in a higher-profile slot. They're that odd." THE TORONTO STAR

Reviews of JOJOKA

"The title of this tape, "Jojoka" means lyric poem in Japanese. Sandra Lockwood is the poet. She performs her work to music, not unlike some Greek, Japanese and African cultures. The topics range from speaking to dead men through spiritual mediums to the individual characteristics of birds and rivers. In order to recreate the sounds needed to convey such a wide variety of ideas, a large amount of sampling is used. This tape is an excellent example of how realistic samples can be used with a little creativity. In addition, the spoken words of Lockwood also sound great. They are clear and concise, and the tape has virtually no hiss. I respect this tape immensely in all senses - musically, lyrically (to use the term loosely), visually, emotionally and intellectually. If this is your introduction to the world of performance art, I hope it doesn't scare you off. Some of it may be a little strange (how many people do you know who would strap a fish to their breasts?), but there is more to it than the bizarre. This medium can show you how to open up to ideas that you wouldn't normally want to." HOME AND STUDIO RECORDING

"With Jojoka, Lockwood used video, movement, words, actors and music to convey her vivid, haunting images. Her often-disturbing poetry guided the audience through various moods. While a video projected ambient images, two silent figures came and went from the stage - embodiments of words - and Mark Critchley did with his keyboards what Lockwood did with her words for an impact which was as devastating as it was mesmerizing." THE WEST ENDER

Reviews of SONIC BLOOM

"Due to the success of his recent ITCH project, Mark Critchley's name is somewhat more prominant, but the fact is, he's been releasing solo tapes for quite some time now. The latest one, Sonic Bloom, is a mostly-instrumental journey, featuring a bunch of keyboard work from Mark. The tape is really all over the place: it has a waltz, a dingy barroom blues piece with sax, & some fairly light and bouncy tunes. Actually, the tape as a whole has a fairly catchy feel to it, even the strangely experimental song, "The Horror." If you are at all interested in seeing what the keyboard side of ITCH is all about, this tape is the way to do it." U.B.C. DISCORDER

"The tape features various soundtrack compositions and instrumental pieces that didn't fit the itch mandate, including "The Horror", a disturbing, emotional piece (featuring Bob's Your Uncle singer Sook-Yin Lee) that has already received airplay and favourable comment on the CBC." THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT