Rough on Rats

The April O'Neil Tapes (2010)

Brian Shultz

Rough on Rats show their age with some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aesthetics, but the nostalgia doesn't seep into their songwriting or delivery, thankfully. Instead, the band concoct an oddly mid-tempo yet energetic and musically decent punk rock brand that's purely gimmick-free.

There's nothing that really seems to tie these four songs together save some gruff post-hardore riffing, but despite that questionable lack of cohesiveness, there are some good times and versatile chops to be shown. Opener "Beating Rocks on Rocks" utilizes a pinch of melodic Oi! punk influence in the vein of Street Dogs, and "Sons of Nothing" has a little more of a hardcore backbone. The last two songs go a little more straightforwardly.

It sounds like there's a lot of character and identity development to be made based on the recordings The April O'Neil Tapes provide, but there's definitely something here.

STREAM
The April O'Neil Tapes EP