"Rats" b/w "Mexico"
( 7")(yellow vinyl)
Just a while back in Muskingum County Ohio an owner of various exotic 'pets' that included large felines, had opened up their cages to let them roam free just before he killed himself. This story and the hunt for the animals, was fairly well-known and reported-on by all the major news networks. Well, it appears they didn't get all of them... Betty Machete & The Angry Cougars (BMAC) got away!
Hailing from Columbus Ohio-- just two counties over-- there's a reason why it was easier to shoot the exotic animals than to re-cage them for human entertainment; they are dangerous. Dangerous animals are called dangerous for a reason. This single marks the second release from BMAC and is still in the same vein as their first single... Familiar and rocking! This record will solidify your belief or make you a believer.
In just one complete listen BMAC will have you in their claws. They waste no time in getting to the point... All those familiar scenes that can only come from a 1st Midwest city with a dirty, muddy river dissecting the metropolis, serve as inspiration once more. There's this side of the river and there's that side of the river... Everywhere you look is the enemy! Your surrounded! Your backed into a corner-- on your death ground-- and ya gotta fight! BMAC fights out of that corner time and time again bringing two raw, ripping punk-rock standards "Rats" and "Mexico" both akin to the likes of The Plasmatics, mixed with ample amounts of the Germs.
There's a self-destructive underlay to every BMAC song that gives you that dirty rock salt in the wound feeling that I get from the Candy Snatchers. There's no time to waste. Every BMAC song is played like it's their last. One eye-blink away from the pits of hell itself... True suicide dead-end punk for your violent demise. You are collateral damage. That ingenious 'Growl Towel' they offer in their merch can clean up the blood, sweat and the tears too. Those tears? They're your tears!
Verily few bands capture the 'Don't Pet the Wolf-Man' philosophy as well,or near-as-well as BMAC. It's not something I see much, but look for often. I appreciate this bands intensity, I appreciate their danger. I appreciate that edge-of-a-cliff feeling listening to their songs. Basically, this release is another winner.
In AprILL look for COLUMBUS BLOOD. A compilation packed full of punk-bands hailing from the Columbus Ohio area including BMAC and the Thwart approved SICK THRILLS.
fB: https://www.facebook.com/AngryCougars
RIYL: Plasmatics, Candy Snatchers, Germs
Please Note: this record, as with 45rpm singles, sounds like a street-punk band when played at 33.3