Newcastle’s Abnorm dropped “Rats” on February 13th. The band formed in 2021 around frontwoman Abbie Rose, who works in pest control and isn’t remotely afraid of rats, which is relevant because she wrote the entire song from the rat’s perspective. Drummer Adam actually had rats living in his walls, keeping him up at night, and that real-life claustrophobia fed directly into the track. The concept flips the usual narrative, singing as the thing everyone fears and demonizes, the screeching, clawing presence that makes people’s skin crawl. It’s a pointed take on how quickly society is to dehumanize what it doesn’t understand.
The chemistry between the band members and the different sonic components of this song is unreal. The way the drums interact with the rest of the rhythm section is masterful, and the vocals are executed with the exact amount of power the song needed. The song’s composition is exceptionally heavy, and the choice of tones for all its moving parts is impeccably grimy. There is zero fat on this song from a songwriting and structural perspective; no section goes on for too long or without purpose. This is a perfect song, and Abnorm do their job of enveloping the listener with its electrifying aura amazingly well.
Abnorm supported ARXX and EEVAH last year, headlined The Cluny and ZEROX, and they’re hitting Sign Of The Times and Lindisfarne this summer. Based on “Rats,” those shows are going to be intense.
