The Seminal Rats

Australia’s the Seminal Rats are appearing on CD for the first time, and this double-disc collection lives up to the its title. Taking a cue from the Saints and Radio Birdman, the Seminal Rats are like a shot in the arm. Urgent and rough around every edge, songs like "Le Grande Bouffe” and "Rat Race” are fitting introductions to this compilation, full of live wire riffs and lo-fi qualities that immediately bring to mind the atmospheres of dank basements and crowded, hole-in-the-wall clubs, which are complementary to the style of the Seminal Rats. "Ain’t Dead Yet” and "Call Me Animal” are snotty demonstrations that there’s nothing pretty about this band. This is punk stripped to its most primal grit.