Listen to This: China Rats’ ‘(At Least Those) Kids Are Getting Fed’
Formed in the summer of last year, in Leeds, England, China Rats consist of 4 individuals putting together their life encounters and experiences through new sounds and lyrics. Lead singer Graeme Thomson mentioned that two of them were living in Armley, a part of Leeds known to be a rundown area, you’d think that living in a dilapidated area of town would be a downer, but these boys loved it. So much so that their tracks were inspired by the local kids who used to hang out on their street. This geographical influence was first seen in their first single ‘N.O.M.O.N.E.Y’, and now they’re continuing that tradition with new single ‘(At Least Those) Kids Are Getting Fed’.
There’s something about Britrock and economic struggle that coalesce well together (‘Lost in the Supermarket’ comes to mind). ‘(At Least Those) Kids Are Getting Fed’ takes a downer of subject and spins it to feigned, and possibly sarcastic, positivity. Typically the sound is garagey and on the lo-fi side of things, you could almost imagine them recording the track in their low-cost tenement’s garage… or maybe that was really where they recorded it, Thomson did say “the band still rehearses [in Armley].” With this and their recent impromptu headlining spot at Spanish festival Benicassim, we’re crossing our fingers that an album is in the works.
Download their single (available till tomorrow) and check out China Rats on their Facebook page here. Find more of their tunes here.