Lower Class Brats

The Lower Class Brats have always had the general style of bastardising the Bouncing Souls and their simple, laidback, anthemic punk rock while still infusing a touch of slightly more palatable oi in the vein of mid-career Dropkick Murphys. Toss in some snotty glam rock’n’roll via twang-y, bending verse riffs à la Backyard Babies and it’s easy to see how this band might not exactly bend the parameters of their blue collar punk rock but they’ve certainly got a handle on enjoyable times and mindless party time music. It’s a course they maintain on The New Seditionaries, which has both positive and negative elements. At the outset, one instantly and effortlessly slides into the mindless, life-as-usual vibe with tracks about getting drunk and how these Brats are squeaking by in life. By the end of the 13th spin on this yarn though, the whole Social Distortion plainness become anaemic. The party atmosphere can only last so long before some substance is needed, like, immediately. Sadly, the band fail to realise this, relegating The New Seditionaries to a release strong enough to enjoy at times, but never establishing itself as altogether necessary.