Hailing from Tomintoul, at one end of one of the most famous routes on Scottish radio weather reports… we’ve all heard that famous phrase “the Cockbridge to Tomintoul Road is closed at the Lecht summit due to snow….”, as Bratakus, sisters Brèagha & Onnagh are one of the villages two most famous exports, the other being its whisky. With this new collection of songs, coming nearly 10 years after their debut album Target Grrrl, these enfant terribles, resplendent on the cover in disturbing horror masks in the guise of their familiar trademark evil baby face band logo, are back with a vengeance and they’ve certainly got someting to say. There is clearly something to be said for being snowed in if it results in an album as potently pugnacious and fiercely assertive as Hagridden…
hag-ridden
(in British English) adjective
1. tormented or worried as if by a witches, demons, or evil spirits
There should be many feeling tormented by the words of Bratakus on the songs on this album, as the target of their their vitriol on this album includes, among other things, sexism, inequalities in the music industry and animal cruelty, Collins dictionary also lists a facetious use of the word, being (of a man) harassed by women… a meaning I’m sure Bratakus were more than aware of when they wrote these songs, and in doing so ensuring the targets of their ire are under no misapprehension regarding how they feel about their words or behaviours.
Right from the off the album utilises astutely observed social commentary with the album opening in style with Final Girls. Released as the first taster single for the album last year, it uses the horror film clichéd trope as the basis of its chorus, “we are not your final girls, we won’t follow all your rules.” Another target of their righteous anger is demonstrated eloquently on Real Men Eat Meat, in which the sisters manage to advocate against animal cruelty while also taking a swipe at the toxic traits demonstrated by “real” men like Andrew Tate “there’s no such thing as real men” spits Brèagha with an unbridled rage on what is probably the fastest, most urgent song on the album.
There are other songs on the album that are clearly written from the viewpoint of Brèagha & Onnagh’s personal experiences of being in a, shock horror, all female band in a misogynistic music industry. Behave takes aim at the inappropriate behaviours of dickhead blokes at gigs, “Behave yourself, you’re not the only one here…you have the right to be here, but I do too,” while Hypocritical takes it a step further challenging behaviours of those who talk the talk but fail to back it up with their actions “is it too much to ask that you stay out of my personal space?” Elsewhere Tokened, another of the album’s singles, which has a low bass rumble underlining the song, criticises surface level actions taken to appease rather than deal with the root cause of the problem, “we won’t be tokened… I am a musician in my own right…” Every single song on this album drills its point home effortlessly, and not one word is wasted in the process.
So how do Bratakus go about getting their message across? As a whole this record is as brutally bruising musically as it is in it’s brutal lyrical honesty, this is sub 30 minute breathless assault on the eardrums, and when you add Brèagha’s trademark fiercely gruff growl, you have an album that is both fraught with tension, with powerful messaging, but also a whole lot of boisterously energetic fun. It is a bone shaking, rib rattling 1000mph high octane juggernaut of a thrill ride, the aural equivalent of taking a fuel injected bulldozer, or should that be snowplough, for a joyride laying waste to everything in its path, and Heaven help you if you get in the way (or are a perpetrator of the behaviours flagged across the songs on the album, in which case you deserve all that is coming…)