CD REVIEW: RAZORBATS – II

CD REVIEW: RAZORBATS – II
Rob Mules Records
February 2018
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9/10

Norway’s Razorbats are adamant that their second album is not a concept album, yet every song resonates with similar themes of outsider cool and alienated angst.

Proudly sporting misfit influences from the glam of Slade and KISS to the shock rock of Alice Cooper and the garage punk of The Undertones and Stiff Little Fingers, Razorbats have forged a new, highly individual sound which blends all of these things with bubblegum power pop and new wave, at times sounding like The Motels, Cheap trick, The Romantics and The Knack all having a jam session.

It’s rock cred set to a Scando-cold garage pop soundtrack, taking us back to when post punk and new wave bands innovated rather than copied, and when the tune was everything.

The five-piece wear a proud chip on their shoulders after a thousand rejections from the hipsters and the cool kids and the self-appointed ‘beautiful people,’ and their songs reflect that: the longing of The Waiting, the jagged punk of Social Rejects, the blissed out hyper-catchy pop of Sister Siberia, the rock and roll loner angst of Take It Out On The Road and Going Underground, and the ultra dynamic six-minute ballad Talk All Night which closes the record and features a great duet with Annette Gil.

Category: CD Reviews