Brutal Knights

With the impact and ferocity of their previous individual efforts (Hacksaw, Teen Crud Combo, etc), it’s no wonder that the Brutal Knights’ debut effort The Pleasure Is All Thine is a hard-hitting affair with relentless vigour and a serious dose of singer Nick Flanagan’s inherent tongue-in-cheek. Thankfully all connotations to past musical successes are nowhere to be found here. That would be all too easy. Instead, the band blast out a stunning blend of punk aggression over a solid straight-up rock foundation, which isn’t really all that far from where they’ve been before but is unique enough to evoke comparisons to Electric Frankenstein, the Spades and the Hookers. Unfortunately the focal points of some song — while clearly hilarious — might be slightly too Toronto-centric for most people to enjoy to the fullest extent, but when offset by the guttural punk rock’n’roll of tracks such as "KWC” and "Teen Sex,” it’s a small price to pay for some intellect with your trash.