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Jan 14, 2015Ratworld is that rarest of beasts--a debut album that’s got a backstory running deeper than all six seasons of Lost, but still sounds like it’s delivered without any requirement for effort whatsoever.
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Jan 27, 2015They do what they do quite well and this cohesive debut should win them plenty of fans.
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Jan 12, 2015Menace Beach’s debut may relish a world on the brink of chaos, but this is a band with their shit together.
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Feb 17, 2015Ratworld wears its influences brazenly on its sleeves, but its execution is impressive, presenting an odd bird view of a world that is ostensibly its own.
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Jan 20, 2015At times, the music is so rousing and glorious that it’s easy to just not care about the fact that they’re heading down a well-worn path. Needham and Violet have conjured up a heavily melodic album that is as surprisingly well thought out as it is satisfyingly loud.
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Jan 16, 2015There’s also an over reliance on the sonic pallette of their Nineties forebears, but those feel like nitpics because Ratworld, despite wearing its influences on its sleeve, presents a world that is uniquely its own.
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Jan 23, 2015Theirs is the rare lead vocalist/backing vocalist dynamic that feels like an equal partnership, with Violet’s injections propelling these songs nearly as much as their rubbery bass lines or pogoing guitars.
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Jan 21, 2015Throwback factor aside, there is a lot of shameless fun on offer, though little imagination. But what they lack in originality they make up for in hooks and enthusiasm.
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Jan 13, 2015The speed-rock splendour of ‘Lowtalkin’’ put to one side, the band’s career prospects and longevity probably lie in the strained emotional hypnotism of the more muted, more self-conscious moments.
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Q MagazineJan 12, 2015Come On Give Up bottles the album's slacker vibe, but Ratworld is more nuanced than most garage rockers could ever manage. [Feb 2015, p.111]
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Jan 12, 2015It’s impossible to deny the appeal but, equally, it’s hard not to want Menace Beach to find their own voice.
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UncutJan 12, 2015It's all likable, seldom revelatory. [Feb 2015, p.80]
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Feb 17, 2015The handful of tracks that work on Ratworld demonstrate that Menace Beach has potential. But the rest of the album shows clearly that while the group has a distinctive sound, they just aren’t there yet from a songwriting perspective.