Jock Tears

Bad Boys (Inky Records)

Jock Tears says a lot in a very short period of time. So short, in fact, that only one track on the group’s 12-song offering breaks the two-minute barrier—but those time limits do nothing to constrain the four-piece’s astute lyrics and frenetic strumming.

Jock Tears are very literal about their name. With a number of tracks referencing male privilege—the record opens with the line “girls have it trickier than boys,” before delving into a cutting description of “Bad Boys” and “Nasty Boys”, which describe the high-school jock stereotype as “charming, just like a snake”—the group has captured the zeitgeist perfectly. Released eight days before Brett Kavanaugh—perhaps the ultimate privileged jock—spent four hours snivelling about how unfair it was that he wasn’t afforded an immediate promotion to the Supreme Court despite multiple allegations of serious sexual assault, Bad Boys offers a distinctly female-led punk, with singer Lauren Ray’s almost angelic speak-singing offering a fresh take on women’s empowerment and how to take zero shit from assholes.

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