Between the time
the Neighborhood Brats recorded their debut EP and dropped their first full-length album, they got priced out of their homes in San Francisco and relocated to Long Beach near Los Angeles, a longtime hotbed of punk at its most fast, loud, and angry. The move seems to have made a difference; on
the Neighborhood Brats' 2014 LP
Recovery, their first full-length album of new material, the group's edgy attitude is sharper than ever, with lead singer Jenny Angelillo sounding fierce on numbers like "We Lost Control," "Complete Mess," and "Year of the Brat." But the band -- guitarist George Rager, bassist Dan Graziano, and drummer Mike Shelbourn -- still sounds like a revved-up fusion of first-generation punk with a dash of pop and the leaner, speedier approach of hardcore, and those looking for punk rock that delivers a potent, speedy buzz will find exactly what they need on
Recovery. ~ Mark Deming