Sticky, their fourth album, clearly marks the next phase for the Rattlesnakes and was produced, for the first time, by Richardson. It solidifies the pair as one of the most exciting partnerships in punk-rock and Carter –since his early days in hardcore punk band Gallows and then as Pure Love –as a vital voice in UK music,rallying against injustice, the patriarchy, right-wing politics and toxic masculinity.
The Rattlesnakes are redefining punk-rock, challenging its tired cliches, and setting the world to rights. It’s easy to forget, perhaps, that Carter was taking aim at the country’s social, political and economical issues on Gallow’s 2009 album Grey Britainalmost a decade before any of his current contemporaries. “I've never really got into music for recognition,” says Carter. “If you're the tip of the spear, you’re already out the other side and
onto the next target. I'm always the tip of the spear. I was making songs with Lethal Bizzle in 2007, we were doing the grime and punk crossover then.”But now with Richardson, onSticky, he’s struck upon a sound that straddles eras and genres while putting The Rattlesnakes in a category all of their own. “Someone described it to me as ‘they felt their youth’ when they were listening to the record,” says Carter. “When you make albums, those are the ones you want to make. Nostalgic, but classic. Timeless, and also modern.”The time is now, then.
Get stuck in.
1. ‘Sticky’
2. ‘Cupid’s Arrow’
3. ‘Bang Bang’ (featuring Lynks)
4. ‘Take It To The Brink’
5. ‘My Town’ (featuring Joe Talbot)
6. ‘Go Get A Tattoo’ (featuring Lynks)
7. ‘Off With His Head’ (featuring Cassyette)
8. ‘Cobra Queen’
9. ‘Rat Race’
10. ‘Original Sin’ (featuring Bobby Gillespie)
