Royal Brat
Eyesore
Moniker Records (2018)
Royal Brat follow an intriguing trend I see in a lot of queer punk: taking direct and heavy subject matter and addressing it with vitriol, then flipping a switch from anger to singsong and back. It’s fascinating that the two emotions, so different, can jump back and forth without feeling more jarring.Eyesore is the first full-length from Royal Brat, out of Minneapolis, following a 2015 demo. A few of those songs are rerecorded here, in better quality. The demo showed a promising, angry punk group. With Eyesore, the energy and spirit remain intact, but the songwriting is tighter and fully formed.Royal Brat mostly plays direct punk rock, with snotty vocals and powerful energy. It’s chord heavy with flowing, descriptive lyrics that establish person and place, then run through an emotional cycle. Tone-wise it’s, well, a little bratty and in your face, but the lyrics are much deeper and cover a range of ideas that range from traumatic moments to personal pride and accomplishment. It’s mostly in a first person perspective, which makes it directly personal with the exception of closing song, “Camisole,” which is either preachy or empowering depending what you like in your lyricism. I’d argue it’s alternately both, … Read more
Mokumedori
Mokumedori
Dewfall Records (2017)
How do you tell a fairy tale using only sound? That's a question seemingly answered by Japanese artist Mokumedori's self-titled … Read more
