shouty-punk
We had so much fun at Rebellion Festival! While we were there we met up with Aggy Gillon of Devolution Magazine for a chat, read what we said here: https://devolutionmagazine.co.uk/2022/08/28/interview-rebellion-tapes-rabies-babies
Thank you to Guy Smallman of Final Hours for the excellent review of our record.
There’s a comforting familiarity that exudes from every track on this ten inch. This lot have been battering our eardrums with these numbers for just over twenty years in pubs, venues and squats around the circuit. Now finally we can listen to their raging tunes recorded to a better quality than on someone’s mobile phone at the Devonshire via YouTube.
The record kicks off with ‘Rape Is Rape, Even If The Rapist Is In A Band That You Like’, a mixture of doom-laden fuzz-bass and upbeat shouty garage punk that calls out the sexism that still lurks within the scene. They make the obvious point that raging against those cops & judges rings pretty hollow if you’re not prepared to clean up the oppressive dog shit that the patriarchy leaves on your own doorstep.
‘On yer bike’ is an equally furious diatribe against the legion of dickheads that populate our roads and feel the need to abuse cyclists, particularly if they’re women. Lorna’s bass riff reminds me of Sonic Youth’s more tuneful moments before launching the song into more-anarcho speed-garage that helpfully delivers a little selection of retorts to keep handy for those moments when you just need that perfect one-liner to deliver to that obnoxious moron in the van or designer lycra. The punk Highway Code is born!
Concluding side one is ‘Madhouse’ a song that explores that moment when its time to leave the messiest of parties and head out into the cold night air. It has epic riffs and rolling drums spliced with insanely fast guitars from Laura. Its like Black Sabbath getting a well deserved kicking from The Slits.
Side two is a sunnier affair that celebrates those all-important ethics of living every punk second while getting thoroughly stewed in the process.
‘Party’ is a gloriously trashy trawl through the greatest excesses of the DIY scene sung from lived experience. ‘La La La’ is joyous in its singalong simplicity. Finally ‘I Fought The Floor And The Floor Won’ is my personal favourite. Swampy guitars meld with a thumping laid-back beat from Tabi. The vibe is like that of The Cramps during their ‘Psychedelic jungle’ period and the words are howled at peak intensity until the song explodes into its banging finale.
A fabulous debut from a band who’ve taken a very long time to produce a record. But its worth the wait and they’ve done it the old school way with a limited number (300) of white vinyls. With postcards, stickers and a nicely designed, full colour zine containing the lyrics and lots of other cool stuff. We’re seriously hoping that we’ll be measuring the time before their next release in years rather than decades. Get this one HERE
By Guy Smallman
She Makes Music focuses on the most exciting and impressive new music created by brilliant and talented female-identifying & non-binary musicians. We are so happy that Rabies Babies feature in their list of Best New Discoveries. It’s a great list of bands so please check it out here.
We are in Safety Pin magazine!
It’s a great magazine, we are honoured to be included.
This issue of the magazine also includes articles on The Lovely Eggs, The Business, & more, and also comes with a 7″ vinyl single with MAID of ACE on one side and Dee Skusting & The Rodents on the flip.
Copies available from safetypin.com
Thank you to Triebi & Ox Fanzine 152 for giving our record such a great review (9/10!!!)
English translation;
RABIES BABIES has been around since 1999, and only now they are making their debut. Unfortunately, what the band from London, active as a trio since 2018, presents here is a rough, desolate and furious mix of punk rock, hardcore and noise. The three name as influences beside KLEENEX, SLITS also BLACK FLAG and remind me of bands like SPIDER CUNTS or 86’D. In their lyrics they criticize the handling of sexual abuse in our scene or sexist pick-up lines while riding a bike. So the A side is also called “Anger side”. But also the – her – fun does not come too briefly. And these songs can be found on the “Fun side” – be it “La La La” or “I fought the floor and floor won”, which lyrically at least should be the British answer to “Jung kaputt spart Altersheime”. The – unfortunately only – six songs come in a colorful package including lyrics fanzine and on white vinyl. For me already a contender for my record of the year!
Triebi Instabil (9)
Keith Goldhanger from Louder Than War wrote nice stuff about our record.
read it here
Yeah!!! It’s official – we’re collectible! We got a good review in Record Collector Magazine (they totally missed the meaning of On Yer Bike, but they got the other songs so we aint complaining).
This radio show is a salute to our favourite record label, with records from our favourite artists and WE’RE ON IT TOO!!!!!
Listen here
Ramma Lamma “Zero Hour theme” from Zero Hour theme on Self
Halie Chace “Damaged Goods” from Trailer Trash on Red Devil Records
The Shadracks “Plastic Lives” from S/T on Damaged Goods
Armitage Shanks “Another Beer” from Shank’s Pony on Damaged Goods
Rabies Babies “Rape is Rape, Even if the Rapist is in a Band That You Like” from Rabies Babies – EP on Damaged Goods Records
CTMF “Punk Rock Enough for Me” from Acorn Man on Damaged Goods
Thee Spivs “Straight Out of Art School” from The Crowds and the Sounds on Damaged Goods
The Revillos “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight (Live)” from Live From the Orient on Damaged Goods
Helen Love “Joey Ramoney” from Radio Hits on Damaged Goods
Helen Love “New Boy In Town” from New Boy In Town – Single on Damaged Goods
Johnny Moped “Ain’t No Rock ‘n’ Roll Rookie” from It’s a Real Cool Baby on Damaged Goods
The Rellies “Isabella Is Annoying” from Isabella Is Annoying – Single on Damaged Goods
Gorillas “Outa My Brain” from Message to the World on Damaged Goods
The Delmonas “Delmona (The Temptress of Love)” from Delmonas 5! on Damaged Goods
Vermin Poets “Like Poets Often Do” from Poets Of England on Damaged Goods
Holly Golightly “As You Go Down” from Slowtown Now! on Damaged Goods
Giuda “Wild Tiger Woman” from Let’s Do It Again on Damaged Goods
The Shivvers “Please Stand By (Remastered)” from The Shivvers (Remixed and Remastered 2014) on The Shivvers
The Midwest Beat “Buffalina” from Incantations on Dusty Medical
Xposed 4heads “Ultracloud (The Quilz remix)” from XPosed 4heads/The Quilz on Internal Combustion
Certain Stars “The Devil Made Whiskey” from The Devil Made Whiskey on Cuba Libre Records
The Solarflares “Can’t Get You out of My Mind!” from That Was Then… and so Is This on Damaged Goods
Cowbell “Tallulah” from Beat Stampede on Damaged Goods Records
Graham Day and The Forefathers “The Good Things” from Good Things on Damaged Goods
The Sensible Gray Cells “So Long” from So Long – Single on Damaged Goods
The Lurkers “Electrical Guitar” from Electrical Guitar – Single on Damaged Goods
The Brokeoffs “Brain Damage / Eclipse” from Brain Damage / Eclipse – Single on Damaged Goods
Holly Golightly “Ladies Excuse Me” from Do the Get Along on Damaged Goods Records
CTMF “It’s All Gone Wrong” from Brand New Cage on Damaged Goods
Talulah Gosh “Beatnik Boy” from Was It Just a Dream? on Damaged Goods
Betty and the Werewolves “David Cassidy” from Noisy Round Plastic: 1998-2018 on Damaged Goods
Miss Ludella Black “Cruel Anniversary” from Till You Lie In Your Grave on Damaged Goods Records
The Milkshakes “One Day You Die” from In Germany on Damaged Goods
The Courettes “Want You! Like a Cigarette” from Want You! Like a Cigarette – Single on Damaged Goods Records
CTMF “A Glimpse of Another Time” from Sq 1 on Damaged Goods
Thee Dagger Debs “Ain’t Worth the Time” from S/T on Damaged Goods
Cyanide Pills “Sit Tight” from Still Bored on Damaged Goods
King Salami and the Cumberland Three “Space Spy” from Kiss My Ring on Damaged Goods
Fabienne Delsol “The Face” from Four on Damaged Goods
The Singing Loins “Crying Out Loud” from Here on Earth on Damaged Goods Records
The Chatham Singers “Why Did I Destroy Our Love” from Kings of the Medway Delta on Damaged Goods Records
Piney Gir “Alone Again or” from Mouse of a Ghost / Tilt a Whirl (Bonus Track Version) – EP on Damaged Goods
Thee Headcoatees “Davey Crockett” from The Sisters Of Suave on Damaged Goods
Cowbell “New Kinda Love” from Haunted Heart on Damaged Goods
Duncan Reid and the Big Heads “C’mon Josephine” from C’mon Josephine – Single on Damaged Goods
The Severed Limb “Long Tall Girl” from If You Ain’t Livin’ You’re a Dead Man on Damaged Goods
The Senior Service “Depth Charge” from The Girl In the Glass Case on Damaged Goods
The Buff Medways “You’re Out the Band Sunshine” from Medway Wheelers on Damaged Goods
Thee Headcoats “Thoughts of a Hangman” from Elementary Headcoats on Damaged Goods
The Spartan Dreggs “Tower Block” from Forensic R ‘n’ B on Damaged Goods
The Vinyl District have said some nice stuff about our new record!
Rabies Babies, S/T 10-inch (Damaged Goods) This UK-based label has become something of a fixture in this column, which is tribute to sustained quality since kicking into gear back in 1988. This consistently comes partly through focus as the discography is loaded with raw no-frills punk, snotty and snarly, both contemporary and in reissue. This new 6-song set from the Rabies Babies fits into Damaged Goods’ equation but also expands it a little, as these UK feminist garage anarcho punks (who’ve been at it since 1999) bash out a racket that would’ve fit just fine on one of the Kill Rock Stars comps or perhaps on a 7-inch in K Records’ International Pop Underground series. To get a little more contemporary, they could easily end up on a future volume in the Emotional Response label’s Typical Girls endeavor.
Rabies Babies divide their record into halves by mood, with the first side angry, opening with the inspired screed against victim-blaming “Rape Is Rape, Even If the Rapist Is in a Band That You Like.” They also tackle casual sexism in cycling in “On Your Bike” and being trapped in a madhouse (which sucks) in “Madhouse.” The flip is the fun side, as “Party,” “La La La” and “I Fought the Floor and the Floor Won” illuminate that Rabies Babies like to enhance their good times with booze. Cheers! The musical glue that holds it all together is rough-throated with beaucoup amp gunk, so that not only did Riot Grrl come to mind more than once and specifically Bikini Kill’s “Suck My Left One,” but also a few spots (like “Madhouse”) pointed back to the ’80s Cali hardcore scene. A stirring blast, short and sweet at 12 minutes. A-
Mawkish Twaddle Radio Show is excellent – 3 hours packed full of great tunes, including one of ours two hours in.
Listen on Mixcloud
About the show:
Mawkish Twaddle, the Saturday evening radio program on KXSF 102.5 FM in San Francisco, marked its third anniversary last night with tracks from The Top Boost, Cult Figures, Tiña, R.E. Seraphin, The William Loveday Intention (Billy Childish), Bradley Skaught, TJ Cabot & Thee Artificial Rejects (Phone Jerks-related), Brian Mello, Twisted Ankle, The Speedways, Juniper, Kobra, West Coast Sick Line, Je Suis Animal (official), Starbelly with Roger Joseph Manning Jr., The Paving Company, Mekons, Disco Junk Band, Cocktails, Let It Come Down (KRAMER and Xan Tyler), Rabies Babies, Julie Et Joe, All Hits, Pash (Urban Cowboy Records), The Fiery Furnaces, Happyness, Damaged Bug, Mainframe, The Explorers Club, Lake Ruth & Listening Center, Wire, Good With Parents & Triple Stephens (Blank Editions), Joe Pernice, and Stuart Moxham & Louis Philippe.
From the past: The Ar-Kaics, The Sunshine Fix, Isabelle Aubret, Sloan Music, Weekend, The Imaginations, The Fall, Fountains Of Wayne, Sarah Goes Shopping, and The Westwoods. Some of these are summer-themed songs to commemorate that particular solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere; others are from newly released collections.
All of it can be heard on Mixcloud.
RABIES BABIES 