The Barcelona hardcore crew are back and on top form!
We’ve said it before, but it still surprises us how the most abrasive and aggressive music so often comes from the sunniest and most picturesque places. The Floridian death metal scene is one example, but on a somewhat less extreme note we have Kids Of Rage from Barcelona. The beautiful Spanish city isn’t a place folks generally associate with hardcore punk, but the band have been together sixteen years, so there must be at least a semi-decent scene going on there.
‘Rearranged’ is the band’s first extended release since 2019’s ‘Hurry Up’, and they certainly sound like a band reenergised and revitalised. Opener ‘Hold On Tight’ starts off slowly before exploding into life around halfway through, whilst ‘Keep Pushing’ features the kind of chorus that just demands a good shout-along, complete with gang vocals. Bane and Comeback Kid are a couple of reference points; at times you’d swear it was former Comeback Kid frontman Scott Wade on vocals here.
‘Just By Myself’ boasts some seriously bouncy riffing, but even that pales in comparison to ‘Tear Down The Walls’ (our personal favourite) which utterly rages throughout its anthemic three minutes. If your heart isn’t beating a bit faster by now, then better check your pulse for signs of life. The “no one can save me from this” refrain of ‘Forever Incomplete’ will linger long in the memory, and then ‘I Was Wrong’ brings things to a close by encapsulating pretty much everything that makes Kids Of Rage great – with a chunky breakdown to boot.
No, there’s nothing here that particularly pushes the hardcore envelope, but that matters little with songs of this quality. Apparently, ‘Rearranged’ is intended as a reminder “that hardcore, when it is honest, does not expire” – and a fine reminder it is, too.
‘Rearranged’ is out now – order the digital version HERE.
Main Photo Credit: IGNASI PAPIOL
- Hold On Tight
- Keep Pushing
- Just By Myself
- Tear Down The Walls
- Forever Incomplete
- I Was Wrong
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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