EP Review: Crobot – Rat Child

You know what this world is always in need of? New music from Crobot. Thankfully, the Pennsylvanian rockers have reached down the back of the sofa to dust off a handful of tracks from their Motherbrain sessions. And it’s a star-studded affair to say the least with Frank Bello, Howard Jones and Stix Zadinia all lending their respective talents to the quartet of songs on Rat Child.

Instantly, it’s an EP which satiates the thirst for more Crobot but leaves you wanting more. Opening track “Mountain” kicks down the door with its filthy groove-laden riff to tell you that nothing changes in Crobot’s world – not that you would want it to. Drums playfully bounce into Frank Bello’s thundering bass line as the pair weave around Chris Bishop’s inimitable chugging riff.

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Meanwhile, the showstopper of the EP is “Everyone Dies” which has Steel Panther’s Stix Zadinia adding his own flair to the proceedings in the form of keys. For Crobot, it’s a first and certainly the closest to ballad territory they’ve ever come with its subtle intro. Lyrically, it borders on introspection but there’s still a good dollop of fantasy, otherworldliness and metaphors for good measure. As Brandon Yeagley rasps his vocals, it feels like a nod to mid-70s Queen (think A Night at the Opera/A Day at the Races) as it sits nicely on top of the keys. But come the mid-point, the song explodes and nod becomes full on homage complete with a Brain May-esque solo and a level of graniosity you’d expect on those Queen albums. It sounds like it shouldn’t work and by Crobot’s standards, left-field, but as a rare deviation, it’s a welcome one.

Title track “Rat Child” returns to the straight-up, no-nonsense hard rock with as much groove and filth they can throw at it. It screams for attention and chugs along at breakneck pace to see the EP to its close with a track the epitome of Crobot’s retro-futuristic hard rock sound. Elsewhere, “Kiss it Goodbye” heads into a doomier direction with its foreboding riff before Howard Jones joins the fray towards the end to upturn the entire thing. Whilst it doesn’t feel out of place, Jones’ distinctive voice creates a vicious jerk into new territory which causes the welcome kind of whiplash.

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Rat Child offers the best of both worlds for Crobot and is helped with collaborators to keep it grounded. If you were anxious for the next Crobot album and enjoyed Motherbrain, this will be perfect for you but it’s also perhaps the best place to start for a newcomer and gives you a glimpse into what they could sound like if they went outside their usual comfort zone (and nail it, naturally).

Rat Child is out now

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December 23, 2021 7:09 PM

[…] Crobot – Rat Child. I’m never going to say “No” to more Crobot. This was exactly that, pulling some extra songs from Motherbrain and a love letter to Queen’s grandiosity, the only problem with it was I wanted more tracks. But that’s why it’s called an EP and not an album. […]

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March 14, 2022 9:58 PM

[…] Sour, Anthrax, Avatar]. Since the world has begun to open up, the band have not stood still. The Rat Child EP was released last summer and featured a mighty cast of Frank Bello (Anthrax), Howard Jones […]