Sator

Wildhearts beware: punk rock'n'roll has a new bunch of pop-fuelled groovers hanging around the water cooler, chatting about their latest twist on the Hellacopters, Backyard Babies and Social Distortion. Creeping out of the same dingy swamps of Sweden, they call themselves Sator and celebrate their bastardization of hooky melodies, shuffling grooves and fuzzy guitar with eighth full-length effort Under The Radar. A raucous experience, pulling out every stop to ensure its 40 minutes excite, inspire and elicit nostalgic reflection, it's a pristinely recorded venture into the world of enthused pelvic rock. Hammering away relentlessly, "Drive Through The Night" makes one miss Road To Ruin-era Ramones, while "S.T.S." takes the double-time, groovy attack of pre-hysteria Hives and gives it the balls it needed back then. Barrelling through influences from pivotal acts, including New Bomb Turks' volatile enthusiasm, Gluecifer's snarky attack, AC/DC's electrified blues and more, Sator may be somewhat derivative, at points, but if there's such a thing as beauty in simplicity, with Under The Radar, Sator are gorgeous.