L7’s First Album in 20 Years is Nothing New

The L.A. punk legends sound rusty.

Two decades since their last album, legendary punk outfit L7 is back to tell the world that they are (still) pissed and (still) give zero fucks.

Thirty years after their formation, Scatter The Rats shows the ladies of L7 still have a lot on their angry hearts. But as a band they sound rusty and unrehearsed, with the overall effect landing somewhere between boring, clichéd or, at the very least, unimportant.

The record has has all the ingredients of their classic grunge/riot grrrl sound, and there’s no doubt this is an L7 album. There’s just nothing new.

Only a track like “Burn Baby” stands out because of its resemblance to their biggest hit, 1992’s “Pretend We’re Dead,” making it seem a bit like a cheap trick. “Fighting The Crave” sounds like an attempt to sound like Joan Jett or The Runaways (think “I Love Rock N Roll”), and even though the sound is half-good, the track never gets off the ground.

Scatter The Rats doesn’t touch me at all, which is a damn shame when I’m trying so hard to relive their ass-kicking past!

Score: 🐀🐀/5