A concept EP unlike most, Rat Bath’s new EP is punk rock’s answer or entrance to the more progressive and storied experimental rock from the 60s. Filled with constant changeups in instrumentation and arrangement and never once adhering to a single system, ‘Meat Poppet/Sweet Puppet’ is a nigh overwhelming piece of hardcore punk that has you entirely enraptured. The album follows the story of a witch whose powers are rendered useless when a demon who was paid to capture them appears in their home. Without their magic, the witch is forced to physically fight the demon. The witch, known as Dead Ol’ Fred, wins the first battle although later being captured.
‘Meat Poppet’ opens the record with a frenzy, an electrically unhinged and chaotic opener that has you bewildered and fantastically engaged at once. Within the album’s story, it symbolises the point wherein Fred regains their powers and threatens the demon with an iconic line “if you touch me again, I will take your fucking hands.” The guitar riff right after that line puts the tune into overdrive. On the follow up, ‘Sweet Puppet’, the group take a much more mellowed and vulnerable approach. Here, Fred realizes the only way to truly break their ties with the demon is to resolve their trauma with the person who it has been working for this whole time. The track’s final moments are a majestic catharsis, the kind that will have you completely letting go of all the weight you’re holding back.
A progressive rock record, under the guise of a hardcore punk angst and freneticism. One of a kind, and well worth a listen.