The lads of RAT BOY are kicking the door back in with “BROKEN,” a snarling, riff-heavy anthem. Loud, hooky, and unapologetic, it’s a punk rock statement shot from the band’s upcoming self-produced new album, CRASH!,dropping on June 26 on Tim Armstrong’s HELLCAT RECORDS.
The Essex gang of four – Jordan Cardy (vocals & guitar), Harry Todd (guitar), Liam Haygarth (bass), and Noah Booth (drums) – co-wrote “BROKEN” with punk icon Tim Armstrong of Rancid. The song marries jagged guitar riffs with an attitude steeped in ‘90s grit while maintaining the band’s signature cheekiness.
Pulling back the curtain on their usual humor-coated lyrics, RAT BOY is locked in as ever on CRASH! The 18-track album was recorded in singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro’s garden, and co-produced by bandmates Cardy and Booth, alongside Armstrong. Coming in with a DIY mindset, the band set up two sheds in Quatro’s garden and had Booth run back and forth between them to hit record and play the drums, barely making the cut at times.
“The room wasn’t soundproof; it was a single thin wooden room with no deadening, so the drum kit sounded so insane and live,” explains Cardy. “We didn’t need to add any triggers to the drums; it’s all real! We all shared a headphone mix through splitters, and we pretty much couldn’t hear what we were playing. I think it might have only been in one ear, too, so we had to trust ourselves that we were playing tight.”
CRASH! encapsulates the band’s last few years of touring, inspired by the crowds across Europe, a raw energy and pure passion that hasn’t been seen in decades. With live performances in mind, the band rehearsed the recorded tracks, determined to create something that conjured that unrelenting liveliness. Tracks like “MAKE ME STAY” and “NO STARS” pull that mid-90s raw aesthetic, catchy hooks and rebellious spirit that defined an era. Between the bright, crunchy guitar riffs and low thumping bass lines, there’s no doubt RAT BOY have hit the sweet spot.
The artwork for CRASH! was just as thoughtful and DIY as the album’s approach, with Cardy sharing, “I wanted the process to be as close as possible to how it would have been done before computers, to keep the artwork feeling authentic and rooted in a physical, hands-on tradition. In the same way the album itself favors rawness and immediacy, I didn’t want the artwork to feel overly polished or digitally constructed.”
RAT BOY made an explosive comeback in 2024, blending ska, punk, hip-hop and hardcore on their third album, SUBURBIA CALLING. They also hit the live scene hard, packing out venues with high-energy shows featuring both new tracks and fan favorites from the UK Top 15 debut SCUM and the Tim Armstrong-assisted INTERNATIONALLY UNKNOWN.
RAT BOY tourdates:
11.07.2026 Periam Port, Ro- Rock La Mures
14.08.2026 Volyně, CZ – Summer Punk Párty Volyně
30.10.2026 Nuremberg, DE – Löwensaal
31.10.2026 Erfurt, DE- HSD
19.11.2026 Salzburg, AT – Rockouse
20.11.2026 Vienna, AT – Szene
21.11.2026 Prague, CZ – Rock Café
Discover more from Thoughts Words Action
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
