The Brats

Reviews

The Brats Keep Doin’ (What You’re Doin’) / If You Can’t Rock (You Can Roll) 7″ reissue

Ten seconds in and I’m thinking to myself that this sounds like some kids that want to sound like a glam band from the mid-’70s, or maybe they fancy themselves the next ROLLING STONES. Turns out this was originally released in 1975, so I was onto something. It’s fine, but it’s not knocking my socks off. The sound is a little thin for me and I find myself wanting them to pick up the pace. It’s just a little too deliberate. I feel like it was a good start to a good single, but they never quite finished the job.

The Brats Be a Man / Quaalude Queen 7″ reissue

Sick. The BRATS’ once-obscure ’70s single (since reissued and sold out by Hozac Records) now graces us again thanks to this fine Italian label’s money. In case you’re not an obsessive ’70s proto-glam punk nostalgia nerd, the BRATS were the vehicle of very brief original NEW YORK DOLLS guitarist Rick Rivets. My well-aged peers might know “Be a Man” from the cover done by SF punk favorites the INFECTIONS. It’s definitely the better tune here, but the flip ain’t no slouch either, and the whole thing has a slightly warped sound adding to the whole platform-soled “Quaalude” stagger sound. If you’re like me and missed the boat on ingesting the Roher disco biscuits, this is a suitable, clearer-headed substitute that won’t leave you with the joy of questioning your bedmate’s name in the morning. Good stuff, punker. Pick it up.