Trolls In Suits (2020)

Bankrupt

Punk, Indie, Surf, Reggae, Hip Hop

Ever felt like an alien? Or been paranoid because of upcoming public holidays? Well here we have the band for you, that tells you all the truth and keeps stuck in your head.

From Hungary, from where we know Melodic Death like Symmetry Of The Void and melancholic thoughtfulness of The Devil’s Trade, comes a Punk formation, that sayingly is not afraid to add other styles to their music. Bankrupt have been around since the 90s, and with their fifth full-length, they take a hold of you immediately.

Like OFF!, their fourteen tracks are mostly under three minutes. The first song “Nightbreed” makes you want to dance right away. For this one amongst others, they also released a wonderful video. Inspired by The Menzingers, the story follows an alien stranded on earth. Intelligently shot, the clip greatly supports the sound and makes one smile.

While the album cover by Richard Vass shows a troll in a suit, looking a bit like the pig mayor of Duckburg, the cover art of the second song shows Donald Trump with braids. Also musically, this one is a real highlight, and somehow reminds a bit of Brendan Benson. Like many of the songs, the third one is an earworm: “Virus, Climate, Meteor, Zombies”.

As mentioned before, Brankrupt brings in other genres, like a feeling of Brit Pop (“London, Moscow, London”) or Ska (“Come Back Joe Strummer”). But overall they are Punk, and so e.g. “Sid and Nancy do NYC” just gets one to places like the Hugo or Between, listening to likes of Wonk Unit. According to the description, that makes sense as it counts as “sentimental tribute to our punk rock heroes”.

In others they are “impersonating the Bad Guy”, like in “Tony Montana” and “Tronald Dump”, which is their “Viva Presidente Trump”. Another great video they made for “Paranoia, Panic, Propaganda” including scenes from “They Live” and “A Clockwork Orange”. Concluding, this is an amazing Punk album, critical and fun for sleepless dancing nights.