A great name and possibly the most unattractive and tasteless sleeve I’ve seen in along time, at least since I pulled out the inner-sleeve of Happy Monday’s Bummed album in a crowded room many years ago. Glasgow’s The Black Rat Death Squad make a fairly unhinged and demented racket on their debut single. ‘Evelyn’ is a pretty distorted, fucked-up sounding noise with everything seemingly captured with the recording desk needles permanently stuck in the red. It’s certainly not a sound you’d typically associate with Paul and Jamie Savage or Chem 19 and, to be honest, on first play I thought it was pretty awful. However, over a couple of plays, while ‘Evelyn’ never gets any less bludgeoning on your senses it does reveal some nice touches particularly an infectiously nagging lead guitar and both the song and lyrics have some moments of inspired madness.
Over on the flipside ‘Aquaboy’ seems a bit more housetrained. Built upon a series of killer Link Wray style riffs that swoop around menacingly and some tribal rhythms which, after a while are punctuated by some ranting vocals before the whole thing builds towards a messy climax. This record has grown on me listen by listen for reasons that I can’t quite fathom. It’s rude, rowdy, rough as hell and kinda fun and catchy. Like bubonic plague without the festering pustules.
www.myspace.com/blackratdeathsquad
