Rat Cage – Not Asking For Much

English band Rat Cage, formerly a solo project, returned in late August with the follow-up to their seminal Savage Visions, released three years ago. Devoted to the classic ’80s sound, the band don’t stray far from the formula on the highly anticipated Not Asking For Much. What they do, however, is put their knack for razor-sharp melodies amid the chaos front and center. Beneath their old-school veneer, Rat Cage have a distinctive approach, enriched by a wealth of rock ’n’ roll elements, and this time around, they sound more playful than ever.

As with its predecessor, Not Asking For Much sits at the crossroads of early British, American, and Swedish hardcore. Bryan J. Sudabby’s band hold GBH and Partisans in equal regard alongside bands like Totalitär, Herätys, Missbrukarna, and, further down the line, Poison Idea. The new record’s 23 minutes are a statement of intent in that direction. Tracks like “The Grass Is Greener,” with its colossal swagger, stand out for the band’s ability to rein in the rhythm. Rat Cage have arguably delivered their best-produced album yet: a deafening yet crystal-clear sonic manifesto that electrifies the atmosphere.

Beyond keeping the intensity high, both sonically and thematically, the album’s ten tracks are imbued with a beautiful sense of feeling. On songs like the finely crafted opener “Steady On Now” and “Scarred Stiff,” Rat Cage combine sonic violence with collective liberation. They hit with brutal force on “Marble Bench,” which sounds like it crawled out of the harshest Scandinavian basements; flirt with near-pub-rock territory on “Cracks They Show”; and smash you straight through a plate-glass window on “Dragged Through The Dirt,” with its incredible vocals.

With no song exceeding three minutes, Rat Cage aren’t so much cramming in an overwhelming amount of information as delivering an impressive distillation of riffs and compositional tricks. The basslines throughout the record are fantastic, a testament to a deep understanding of the genre, while the drums pound away within an early d-beat framework without ever losing their pulse in favor of some noisy, all-out racket. Once again, the guitar solos and leads are a major highlight, particularly on the album-closing title track, which the accompanying press release aptly describes as exploring the influence of Pink Fairies.

Rat Cage have released an album forged in the fires of hope, self-sacrifice, and resistance. It takes the absence of a future and our collective predisposition toward prolonged defeat and turns them into fuel for songs that shine through the gray nights of resignation. Brief, though not necessarily explosive, Rat Cage’s songs are beautiful smudges across the face of the mundane. The way they channel their anger is liberating, and empathy is never buried beneath nihilism. Their hardcore grooves, teaches you the choruses, and then invites you into the pit. Not Asking For Much, perhaps their most melodic outing yet, is essential listening for anyone interested in underground, politically charged hardcore rooted in the past but firmly grounded in the present.

I’m not asking for much. Just listen and understand.

A Greek version of this review was published at Rocking.gr.