Today, Bangor’s own Rabo De Toro crash onto the scene with their self-titled debut album, released through Link2Wales Records. It’s a record that doesn’t so much introduce itself as kick the door down, light a fire in the corner, and dare you not to join in.
Opening track Fake News Knobheads sets the mood from the very first riff — sharp, snarling, and full of scathing wit. What follows is ten tracks of raw, unfiltered energy: Bound By Woodbines, Fast Fake Pisstake, Hello Stupidity, Circus Atari, and more, each one bristling with humour, venom, and a healthy disregard for the rules.
Yes, it’s punk — but not punk as you know it. There are shades of Sleaford Mods in the sneering vocals, flashes of Bad Brains in the frenetic pace, and hints of Gogol Bordello’s ragged chaos. Just when you think you’ve got the measure of it, the band flips the table with a grotesque, brilliant cover of Russ Abbott’s Atmosphere — the novelty disco hit reborn as something darker, funnier, and far more dangerous.
What makes Rabo De Toro so compelling is the balance of anger and absurdity. The riffs are jagged, the lyrics bite hard, but there’s always a wink behind the sneer. It’s an album that can make you laugh, rile you up, and maybe even inspire you to smash your local government office windows — before planting flowers in the rubble.
As debuts go, this one doesn’t just land — it detonates. With Rabo De Toro, the Bangor mischief-makers have released a record that’s brash, fearless, and impossible to ignore. If this is day one, the future promises to be loud, chaotic, and a hell of a lot of fun.
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