Streets Of Rage - Beat Your Kids EP

None of the tracks are over two minutes, the lyrics are hardly audible and you can hear a hiss of tape over the top throughout.

Despite that, we love Streets Of Rage’s ‘Beat Your Kids’. Maybe because of that we love it. The lo-fi hum of amateur recording and the little production (more likely, none at all) are in the true spirit of DIY. Instead of crafting songs with choruses and verses, why not just knock out some fast, scratchy guitar before shouting over it and putting it on a CD-R?

Musically, it obviously leaves a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, there’s potential here. A very raw potential, with its furious take on the anti-folk style. Or psychobilly. Or whatever. It’s 8/10 for a reason, even we’re not sure.

Maybe it’s the bloodshot eye penned onto the CD, or the wonderfully nonchalant letter that came with it, or the fact the name is from an amazing Sega Genesis game. Regardless, we would like more.