There are albums and albums waiting to be reviewed, as there are good ones, discreet ones and those that just can’t be heard.  Well, “Rock’n’Roll” by Dirty Rats is part of the first category. This album by the Melbourne band, born the mid to late 1980’s, embodies the essence of rock. It won’t be an original album, it won’t be innovative but its spirit is wild and it has the taste of pure hard rock.

Punk attitude with a lot of rock is the first track “Not Alone” a start full of energy between guitars, vocals and choirs so catchy that you hardly have no way of inviting you to this piece, if this is the first step…

“Suicide” is another good track, rough and shaggy, thanks both to Wayne’s voice and to the musicality in itself and, if it’s not yet enough, I’m sure that with “Low Life” Dirty Rats will be able to involve you, a really exceptional and involving piece, in which the spirit of the band can be heard, in a harsh style with excellent guitars and all the soul of a hard rock with punk veins.

Even with “When the Money Runs Out”, the sound of the band is able to fully convince, between laps of bass and drums that mark the cadence of this track, more catchy than the following “Notch in Your Belt”, here is just rock’n’roll a go-go and I challenge anyone to stand still on this track, which played live must be a potential hit of the album. Same for “Everybody Bleeds”, too catchy not to please those who mean rock as pure fun and free expression, great guitars and good rhythm section once again.
Another amazing track is 2<bad man” with an attitude and a punk sound that is well intertwined with the guitars purely hard rock, one of my favorite tracks in this album.

“Yesterdays Hero”, another noteworthy track, continues more or less like the previous one, in which Jamie’s bass is heard, well shaping the sound of the track, a brilliant piece.

Last track “Rat Town” it’s just another nasty and brilliant hard rock piece, absolutely good the rhythm section with Andy on drums and stunning as usual Chooka on guitar.

To sum up,  Dirty Rats with “Rock’n’Roll” made a good album in which their roots remain firmly in raw rock and let’s say, even old-fashioned, because rock in the end must be exactly like that, without contaminations that alter the sound of the background but that stabilizes its origins, Dirty Ratz have managed 100%.

Review by Valeria Campagnale