Right out of the gate, I have to say this record knocked me right on my back. High-octane doesn’t even begin to do it justice. Like all the best punk rock, it’s explicitly political and viciously uncompromising, practically bursting at the seams with unbridled ferocity and turbocharged attitude. I had to listen multiple times before I could even begin to organize my thoughts about this one. It was like being clothes-lined by a brick wall.

Before we even get into the meat of the message here, the texture of the music itself is a huge part of what makes this music so enthralling. The duo (Phoebe Lunny on guitar and lead vocals, Lilly Maciera-Bosgelmez on bass and backing vocals) produced the record themselves with help from a few outside sources (Daniel Fox of Gilla Band, with mixing by Seth Manchester who’s worked with Mdou Moctar and Battles among others). The guitars and distorted bass crunch over surging, roiling drums (from guest contributor Jack Looker), the ultimate garage sound flecked with shades of dissonant noise, pop punk, and even some pretty fine melodic work. Ty Segall, eat your heart out.

As mentioned earlier, the songs here are political; a scathing rebuke of several embedded problems in society – police brutality, workplace harassment of women (particularly from the “nice guys”), intolerance of LGBT people, gentrification, the way money and privilege can move certain people upward at the expense of everyone else, and the general crumbling of our system as late stage capitalism begins to devour itself in its quest for everlasting expansion. Withering lyrics delivered in a spitfire rage over the caustic instrumentals make for an exhilarating, eye-popping listen, and at just under 30 minutes it’s a breathless sprint from start to finish.

Highly recommended for fans of garage rock, punching the patriarchy in the dick, UK punk, and Otoboke Beaver.