Record of the Week: Rat Cage: Not Asking for Much 12"

Rat Cage: Not Asking for Much 12” (La Vida Es Un Mus) Sheffield’s mighty Rat Cage returns with their third full-length, and if you thought now was the time to fall off the Rat Cage bandwagon… well, you’re dead wrong. Rat Cage has had a good idea of who they are since day one, and the influences you hear on Not Asking for Much are largely the same as on previous records: ripping Swedish mangel, hooky punk like the UK Subs, and a big helping of US hardcore, thrown in a blender with venomous vocals and lyrics that offer astute critiques of the current world order. While the style hasn’t changed much, Rat Cage has continued to evolve and refine what they’re doing, and some fourteen releases into their discography, they’re basically unmatched in their skill at writing a punk/hardcore song. The first time you listen to Not Asking For Much, there are heaps of big moments that immediately stand out: the infectious melodic lead riff in “Cracks They Show;” the call-and-response chorus of “Spiders in a Jar;” the album closing singalong, “leave me alone / I’m not asking for much.” While these moments are powerful in and of themselves, where Rat Cage really distinguishes themselves is how they contextualize these moments and deploy them for maximum impact. Bry (who writes and records all of Rat Cage’s music) is a master of building tension by teasing a song’s climax and withholding the cathartic release until precisely the right moment. For instance, “Grass Is Greener” teases its singalong ending by playing the same melody in a bunch of different ways throughout the song—guitar and bass together, bass and drums, acoustic(!) guitar—and if you’ve heard the song before, you’re just waiting for that moment when the gang vocals come in and everyone sings “la la la” together. “Dragged Through the Dirt” does something similar. The song’s chorus is super catchy in its own right, but if you’ve listened to the record already, you no doubt remember the bridge section when the song breaks down to just drums and vocals. The chorus starts the same way, with Bry screaming “dragged through the dirt,” but then instead of the little descending riff that comes after, gang vocals come in with the same melody and everyone in the room is chanting “dragged through the dirt… aaahhh ah ah ah.” Absolutely brilliant. The result of all this songwriting subtlety is an album that gets better every time you play it. You like all those big moments the first time you hear them, but the way each song builds toward those moments makes them hit even harder when you know they’re coming and you’re anticipating them. Undoubtedly one of the best hardcore records 2026 has given us thus far.