STAR WARS AND SIRENS: DEAD RAT SOCIETY’S REFLECTING LIGHT AND CAUSING CHAOS
ALBUM REVIEW| DEAD RAT SOCIETY – REFLECTING LIGHT AND CAUSING CHAOS by Isobel O’Mahony
If you’re looking for darkly obscure dance music with impactful social commentary and wacky Star Wars references, look no further than London punk/dance group Dead Rat Society’s new record Reflecting Light and Causing Chaos. It’s made up of mostly short tracks that pack an IDLE’S reminiscent punch, with bass ready to shake the walls. Whilst the tunes can sometimes come off a little repetitive, there are consistent twists and surprises. This record will simultaneously stimulate your soul through brilliant musicality and arrangement, whilst lyrically turning your mind and eye to the world around you.
This album is not at all linear, but does take you through an interesting journey. Starting off with title track, “The Night” which is a fabulous open to the album. Sirens and R2D2 references are not elements to hip-hop/grunge but it fits. It has you asking from the off if they’re secret geniuses or just another crazy punk band out of London (perhaps, it’s both).
“Can You Feel It In Your Face” and “Come With Me on a Spaceship” instill the dark tone within the album, complete with on the ball lyricism distant from the music itself. It’s a story of the UK today or, according to the band themselves, “a perspective on the heartbeat of the cultural zeitgeist” – followed by bass and shouting naturally.
“Needed the Sun” and “Immaculate Vibes” shifted the sound, with a focus on real 2000s London hip hop. There’s almost traces of Jamie T and Limp Bizkit thrown in the mix too; the marriage of the bass boom, strings and horns is excellently executed to get listeners moving. Whilst some might hear it as just a lot of different sounds mashed together, the band does a steady job of making them all work. “Shoplifters Welcome” is possibly the most IDLES track of the record, if IDLES put a random Darth Plagueis the Wise quote from the Star Ward prequel in “Never Fight a Man with a Perm”.
Acoustic driven track “Leave with Care” is a complete 180 from the past experiences, with beautiful vocals and an air of feral yet wise. Although the faster tunes are the stronger amongst the album, its an indication of the lovely place indie punk and electronica is heading. “Little Victories”, the longest tune on the record, follows the previous song well with a slower, more deliberate sound.
Penultimate tune “Bounce Back” is similar to that of “Needed the Sun”, just feel-good and summery with all the bells and whistles (literally, have a listen). I’m not a huge fan of delayed timing and messing with slo-mo vocals, but the music still keeps this one as a steady track. “Dream River” is nothing short of pleasant and almost sounds like a vinyl being played backwards. When people do that themselves, it’s often to uncover secret messages that 70’s, rumored satanic, bands left behind for fans to figure out; this track begs the question, what is the band hiding from us and, are we ready?
Overall, this album is dictated and summarised best by its tite. Each track reflects light on what it is to live in England today and causes chaos with its grungy electronic musicality – whilst also just being a bloody fun time. It bends the punk and dance genre to fit their narrative and vision for their sound. Effects and references creates a world that the band have only scratched the surface of with their first album. Dead Rat Society are easily finding their footing across multiple paths and what’s next already seems both promising and absolutely, positively and brilliantly unknown.
