The Best of Bitesize is only twenty minutes long. It looks like it's thirty minutes, but that's because of some sneaky hidden-track action. Naughty Bitesize.

It is, however, twenty of the best minutes of music I've heard all year. Bitesize makes brashy, noisy, skewed retro-punk-pop of the Pixies-on-crank variety -- they pack more hooks and more energy into ninety seconds than many bands can fit on an entire album. Give the lyrical pen of guitarist/vocalist Tom Serano plenty of credit -- he's got a flair for creating mundane-yet-brilliant choruses that work perfectly with the band's new-wavey guitar rhythm. You'll find yourself bouncing around, babbling lines like "I need a cigarette..." (from "Cold Turkey") and "I'm a hermaphrodite, but that's beside the point" (from the utterly perfect disc closer, "I Forgot My Mantra") because they've buried themselves so deep in your head. Please make certain nobody else is around if you're going to mutter about being a hermaphrodite, because rumor is a terrible thing.

I'm torn here -- I really wish Best of... was longer, but it's perfect as it is. It's kind of scary to think that it takes as long to play the entire Bitesize album as it does to listen to one Godspeed You Black Emperor song, but it all comes down to economies of scale...and on the "short song" market, Bitesize is priceless.