Sewers / Rat King - Leather Split c/s (Virtual Cool)

5:59 Browood

Released: Now

- While it seems like every second person I engage with these days runs their own little record label, one could argue there are few better in Brisbane joining the illustrious world of small business than our very own Josh Watson. A discreet and unassuming human being, but one who has his muscular fingers jammed in more than a couple of juicy musical pies, his latest venture, Virtual Cool Records, sees Watson unleash his own cassette-centric label upon the world. The first official release, a split with self-proclaimed Newcastle fuck-punkers Rat King, the leather bound cassette simply entitled, Leather, literally smelling as it sounds. Delightful.

While both groups have always operated on the uglier side of the musical spectrum, this latest, rag-tag collection finds both groups descending even deeper into the abyss. Leather is the first legitimate material from either group in nearly a year and it’s arrival is a very welcome one. Dank rock and roll heaving and squirting out hot aural puss ripe for an indulgence. Sewers and Rat King complement each they like two toilet babies plucked from the same murky womb and raised in various gutters around the backstreets of our proud, industrious nation.

On Leather, Side A is where Sewers unleash one new song and one cover. That cover of legendary Adelaide scum rocking Grong Grong’s Japanese Train Driver is a compelling and faithful nod to a group that helped pave the way for this generation of modern day trash dogs. Their own Chinese Tommy is ninety brutal seconds that continues to leave me feeling like I’ve been thoroughly shook like a rag doll as I cower helplessly in the corner of my own mind.

Rat King launch into Side B with Sick Pills: a song that sounds like it was recorded in a dumpster, adding a level of raw intensity to a group that never needed any more to begin with. It’s a hectic and chaotic two-and-a-half minutes that showcase Rat King at their electrifying best. Cassette closer Browood on the other hand is a gruelling, slow burn, monster jam that sinks its teeth in early and drags you along for the six minute ride. All the while caressing your ears with a sustained growl: musical courtship through sensual intimidation.

If this debut cassette is any indication of what to expect in the future from Virtual Cool, then Josh Watson is off to a killer start. Leather is a short and bittersweet little nugget, well worth the trip. Check it out now from Virtual Cool’s Bandcamp and get a tiny piece of kangaroo to call your very own.

- Jay Edwards.