Reviews

Street Rats

Brut MMXXIII – MMXXIV LP

This is very unique and different—a combination of post-punk and Oi! (which becomes even more apparent when you reach the JOY DIVISION and BLITZ covers later on in the slab). This is a collection of several singles and EPs that BRUT released between 2023 and 2024. The guitarist is playing at such high octaves that I thought they were running a mandolin through a chorus pedal at first. Maybe they are, there are no liner notes included. It gives the tracks this real dreamy quality that pairs well with the treble-heavy bass and dark, barking vocals. Extremely catchy and well-constructed tunes here. A very impressive output for a single calendar year.

Pena Maxima Alentando Hasta El Fin LP

Spanish-sung Oi! from Miami, Florida, with lots of gang vocals, gruff football chants, and anthemic guitar leads. PENA MAXIMA has been around since 2016 and is just now releasing their debut, which is evident in the polished production, skillful playing, and tight songwriting. It isn’t really my taste, but I can appreciate the talent on display here, and can certainly see the appeal for the Samba-wearing crowd.

Toy Tiger Meow Sabotage LP

TOY TIGER, a DIY five-piece from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, dish out ’70s glam- and Oi!-influenced street rock built around steady, down-the-middle playing and explicitly anti-racist, anti-authoritarian, pro-LGBTQ2+ lyrics. Meow Sabotage, their second full-length, sticks to that formula and spends most of its time parked in the same mid-tempo lane. The overall effect reminded me more of ’80s L.A. sleaze rock—like they could have opened for FASTER PUSSYCAT on the Strip—than T. REX’s shimmer. Nothing here knocked me sideways, and a lot of the tracks blur together, but Bugsy Faithfull’s vocals were a standout, shifting between a controlled street punk snarl and a ’50s-tinged Danzig croon. I have a feeling these songs hit harder when you’re shoulder-to-shoulder in a bar, singing along and getting swept up in the message with the people around you.