Montreal punk vermin Hood Rats have been around since 2017 and have become known for their own brand of punk that blends garage punk and French Oi. After a long string of strong singles and demos, the band are finally putting out their debut LP Crime, Hysteria & Useless Information on April 5 through Dirt Cult Records in North America and Bachelor Records in Europe.
Today, they’re debuting their latest track “Occupied Territory” off of the upcoming album. “I wrote the music for ‘Occupied Territory’ before I wrote the lyrics,” says the track’s songwriter, Tony. “It sounded like an anthem, but I had nothing to be patriotic about. They recently discovered mass graves in Canada at a residential school run by the Catholic Church. Our history is steeped in Colonialism and it’s alive and well today. To sum it up, this song is an anti-colonial anthem.”
Characterized by a classic, ’70s punk beat and a thumping bass line, “Occupied Territory” rings out musically with all of the anti-colonial fury of its lyrics. Check out the blistering new track below.
