It's time to party like it's 1983. Radkey – three teenage brothers from Missouri – play short, sharp punk with nods to Misfits, Black Flag, TSOL and the rest of the gang, and they do it rather well.
Given their tender years, they have a pretty good handle on things and have produced a five-track EP that sounds both comfortingly retro and bang up to date.
On Cat & Mouse, the EP's lead track, DeeRadke is a devilock away from Glenn Danzig as he sings: “You better run, he's coming for you.” It's a delightfully schlocky retread of '80shardcore's more theatrical side.
With Out Here In My Head, the band kick up a gear and tear through a couple of minutes of DC-infused hardcore, while Pretty Things opens with a guitar riff that mashes together the catchiness of Ramones and the minor key of Misfits.
Red Letter continues to mine Danzig's back catalogue for inspiration as Dee speaks of personal vendettas over a charging beat and some ominous guitar overdubs, before an outro punctuated by throat-shredding screams.
The EP's final track finds the trio tackling racist abuse on N.I.G.G.A (Not OK), a response to a the treatment of a friend at a predominantly white school. “You say you're joking around, but I'm the one you're putting down,” Dee sings in the opening line, which follows a catchy-as-hell guitar riff.
Radkey certainly aren't doing anything new here, but they've been swotting up on this stuff for years and they do a better job of it than many bands twice their age. There's serious potential here, so roll on a full-length record.
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