Satan’s Cats
Salamander, 2022
8/10
A project that brings together the UK punks Satan’s Rats and the singer Puss Johnson of Pussycat and the Dirty Johnsons, this 5 song EP was born during Covid, and has the players reworking 4 classic Rat’s tunes and a Thin Lizzy cover.
“You Make Me Sick” opens the listen with searing guitar from Steve Eagles and Olly Harrison’s furious drumming, as Johnson’s biting yet pretty singing guides the scrappy punk tune, and “Facade” follows with swirling guitar work and much gritty melody that leaves it unclear if you should leap into the nearest pit or find the dance floor.
“Sex Object” occupies the middle spot and benefits from Dave Sparrow’s bouncy bass lines in the calm verses dense moments, while “Year Of The Rat”, the EP’s best, balances both firmness and tunefulness as an anthemic quality unfolds. The final tune, Thin Lizzy’s “The Rocker”, showcases dense guitar acrobatics and a dynamic rhythm section, where Johnson’s vocal performance is quite impressive, and the band do justice to the classic amid their retro-punk spirit.
All the players present have lengthy and exceptional careers that includes opening up for The Sex Pistols in 1977, and this really fun listen that embraces all the hallmarks of the early days of punk, but is still modern, is hopefully the precursor to an LP
Travels well with: The Mutants- Curse Of The Easily Amused; Professor And The Madman- Séance