Scottish sisters Bratakus give classic punk a modern, bratty twist on fiery debut that takes aim at the whole world.
Bréagha and Onnagh Cuinn are as DIY as they come. Growing up in the remote Scottish Highlands whiskey village of Tomintoul, as Bratakus the sisters have made enough righteous racket to sign to Venn Records, book shows across the globe, and support punk legends like Discharge and Propagandhi. Now with their debut album Hagridden, they really get to show what they're about.
From the first note of opener Final Girls, Hagridden fizzes with pure punk energy. Bréagha’s guitar line cuts like a razor, while her gravelly yells are the acid poured in the laceration. It's all furious defiance and individualism as they set out their mission statement with an earworm chorus: 'We are not your final girls, we won't follow all your rules.' Real Men Eat Meat ramps that up further with the duo’s repeated cries of, 'There's no such thing as a real man,' making the 90-second track a full-throttle thrill ride, before Hypocritical swan dives through tempo changes while remaining incredibly tight.
But their unrelenting intensity reveals itself to be a blessing and a curse as Hagridden goes on. Across 10 tracks, the same tricks and patterns become two-dimensional and that makes songs like Tonight and Tokened feel like stalling points. It's true what they say about having too much of a good thing, and some sort of additional texture through the front half of the record would give welcome respite for the wall of noise, however solid it may be.
It's not until the penultimate track Drowning that the duo offers up any real change of tack. The longest song on the album does without Bréagha’s grittier vocals and allows bassist Onnagh to really take the vocal reins. Her register is comparatively crystalline, and works just as well as the leading light, as it does piping in to back up Bréagha’s choruses on other tracks.
All told, Hagridden reveals Bratakus as a superb new proponent in post-millennial punk. With their feet firmly in the door, now they have the chance to really step on the gas and show the world what else they're capable of.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: The Distillers, High Vis, Lambrini Girls
Hagridden is out now via Venn.
