Rat Attack - This Is Art
Rat Attack is a four piece punk hardcore act that takes all the elements of their favourite bands and influences, twisting them into their own unique “Rat Attack” style creating their own piece of art with their recent release ‘This is Art’.
The vocals of Drew Amesbury wave between the screech of pain and anguish and the spoken word; they never really sings with harmony. There are many emotions emitted with a passion and unsteadiness, pain, anger, annoyance and frustration but noting very uplifting. This is probably the point that is more off putting but it still suits the atmosphere created by the music incredibly well. When the vocals come together for the harmonies, individuals shouting the lyrics in unison, this is probably a little more effective.
The record opens with a building of a drumbeat and the crashing of a melody with ‘The Southern Lights’, there is a more rock and roll guitar solo in ‘I Still Function’, a bass line kick starting something special in ‘Sleep in Wreckage’ while ‘Lets end the Work’ is very similar to the others. Out of the six songs the concluding song ‘Forced Smile’ is probably the most enjoyable to listen to as it is a little catchier in its music and lyrics than the others.
After one listen to ‘This Is Art’ you can imagine that a live performance would be quite vigorous with arms flapping, legs shaking and vocals ranging from a screech to a whisper. Rat Attack is looking to embark on some live dates soon.