Since 2007, Exeter party chaps Rat Attack have been knocking out the hits, giving it everything and preaching the gospel of tolerance for one and all. There is no uniform for watching us, they say, excluding no-one in their live and studio work. Previous videos shot in places like the Cavern show a band totally at home with who they are and, crucially, what they are.
This EP is the vanguard of a new era of activity for the band, who are climbing bills at fests like Radstock, Takedown and, all importantly, Download. Taking their work ethic seriously, but not themselves, seems to be working wonders for the quartet, and with two music videos (Heartbeat and Bad Catholic) already tramping around the interwebs, all is well. But is this any good?
The powder-keg start to A Bird In The Hand would suggest this is the case. Getting right in there, the Rats are keen for everything to make you move, to make you jump and shake. There’s no artifice here, only sweating, inky men giving it plenty. The drums are crisp and confident, the vocals potent and unreserved, the guitars and plenty crunchy. Props to the bass tone for the terse grit on display. The lyrics on this song are a bit limp to begin with, and the subject matter so well covered as to be almost parodial, but it all fits together. Shards of Smash-era Offspring, …Punk To Come Refused and Devon contemporaries The Computers (albeit with furrowed brow) are evident, but the Rats are their own men.
Facehooked is so current it almost feels unnecessary, eulogising the increasing detachment of humanity from itself via the virtual interaction of social networking. Go outside it says, take a picture with Instagram and photoshop yourself into a new dimension. Blast some party punk while you do it and see how it feels. As strained as the latter-day references are, the sentiment of this track is to be commended, and the ire with which it is delivered points to an exposed nerve in the Rat camp.
The glorious bass tone and swung syncopations of Look Back And Laugh’s boning story are the only slight let down on the record-the lyrics are a bit sub par, and despite that nice bass lick towards the end, it feels a bit like padding. This is immaterial though, Heartbeat is excellent. Pining for more exciting, simpler times, the lyrical content manages to tell both sides of the story; the friend who grew up and the friend who didn’t. Liam Cromby’s powerful vocal does the track no harm whatsoever-that last chorus is kevlar-plated magic. A definite standout, and worth the price of admission alone.
Bad Catholic starts brilliantly, hung on a thick, old school riff, played with all the conviction the band can muster. There’s a very Green Day-esque chord progression at 0.57, which spoils the mood slightly, but the rest of the track ploughs on unhindered. The modicum of restraint applied at the end is a welcome touch.
This is a good record, a solid release by a hardworking band who care about what they do. Heartbeat is the obvious highlight, its superb chorus custom-built for festival shouting. Rat Attack are good at this, and deserve all the success that is due to them; no-one can say they haven’t put the hours in. To quote the West Country, proper job.
Check out the video for Heart Attack:
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