Label: One Little Independent Records
Released: 8th July 2022
Stevenage-based Bad Breeding’s fourth full-length ‘Human Capital’ comes at a perfect point, where society feels more fraught than it’s been in quite some time. The album isn’t only armed with 12 guttural hardcore punk tracks, but also a 2000 word personal essay, calling for solidarity in an increasingly disenfranchised and capitalist world obsessed with individualism.
Translating these lyrical themes into sonics is where ‘Human Capital’ shines. The album is aggressive, intense and brutal. Vocals are drowned out by haphazard instrumentation, but it’s simultaneously grooving and persistent, with some killer breakdowns thrown into the mix.
While tracks fall seamlessly into each other, variation would have been beneficial – but when a band is this angry, is there any time for that? ■ Jasleen Dhindsa
