MUDRAT - Social Cohesion: A Molotov Cocktail for the Soul.Album review by Mark Jenkins.
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An Album where all those elements converge into something genuinely dangerous.
★★★★☆
There's something viscerally cathartic about watching the establishment squirm, and Melbourne's MUDRAT has crafted the perfect soundtrack for that discomfort with Social Cohesion. This isn't just another punk-rap crossover attempting to ride the coattails of genre-blending trends – this is a weaponised manifesto disguised as a debut album, and it hits with the force of a riot shield to the face.
The Sound of Systematic Breakdown
Produced by Joey Plunkett, tracks like FME(Fuck My Enemies) deliver "a wall of distorted riffs, pounding beats, and politically-charged fury that feels somewhere between The Prodigy and Rage Against The Machine." But where those comparisons might suggest derivative territory, MUDRAT carves out something uniquely Australian and urgently contemporary. This multi-talented creative visionary has gained acclaim for his "blending of punk, metal & hip-hop influences alongside passionate delivery & raw lyricism," and Social Cohesion is where all those elements converge into something genuinely dangerous.
The album's sonic architecture is built on controlled chaos. MUDRAT's signature raw punk ethos is driven by a foundation of pulsating electronic basslines and thumping drums reminiscent of The Prodigy's visceral energy, before detonating into anthemic, riff-heavy choruses, featuring visceral call-and-response dynamics designed to unify audiences. It's music designed for the mosh pit and the protest line in equal measure, where aggression becomes communion and rage transforms into solidarity.
Political Weight That Actually Matters
MUDRAT creates "music that draws from his perspective of the world, life experience and cultural roots and political beliefs," and this authenticity bleeds through every track. This isn't political posturing from someone safely removed from struggle – this is lived experience weaponised into art. The album confronts housing unaffordability (currently requiring 11.5 years of median income to buy a house in Melbourne), casualisation of labour (with 40% of Australian workers now in insecure employment), and the erosion of social services with the kind of specificity that only comes from actual engagement with these issues.
Underground Credibility Meets Mainstream Impact
Following "a breakout 2024 — including a viral political anthem, a slot at St Kilda Festival, and taking out Triple J's Unearthed Denzel Curry Competition," MUDRAT represents something rare: an underground artist who hasn't compromised his message for broader appeal. Social Cohesion maintains that punk DIY ethos while demonstrating the kind of songcraft and production values that could genuinely shift cultural conversations.
As one critic noted, MUDRAT made "an immediate impression" through "adherence to" political musical imperatives, positioning him within Australia's proud tradition of confrontational political music while updating it for contemporary crises. Where bands like Midnight Oil targeted environmental destruction and The Saints channelled suburban alienation, MUDRAT focuses laser-like on economic injustice and systemic inequality – issues that have only intensified since those earlier protest anthems.
The Mosh Pit as Sacred Space
What elevates Social Cohesion beyond mere political sloganeering is MUDRAT's understanding that revolution requires rhythm. These aren't lecture tracks – they're songs designed to move bodies and unite crowds. The "anthemic, riff-heavy chorus" sections create "visceral call-and-response dynamics designed to unify audiences across the country," transforming individual rage into collective action. In an era where political engagement often feels impotent and online, MUDRAT creates spaces where physicality and politics converge.
The album's title, Social Cohesion, becomes increasingly loaded as the tracks progress. In policy circles, social cohesion refers to the bonds that hold communities together – trust, shared values, civic engagement. But MUDRAT seems to be documenting its systematic destruction while simultaneously attempting to rebuild it through sonic communion. It's both diagnosis and treatment, documenting the fractures while providing the musical cement to rebuild from the rubble.
Final Verdict
Social Cohesion succeeds because it refuses to choose between authenticity and accessibility, between political substance and sonic innovation. MUDRAT has established himself as a ferocious breath of fresh air coming out of Australia's East Coast by understanding that the most effective protest music works on multiple levels – as documentation, as catharsis, as a call to action, and as damn good listening. In a climate where fascist groups feel emboldened enough to stomp on fires, tear down flags, swing poles and pipes, and target women at Indigenous protest sites, MUDRAT's unwavering anti-racist stance becomes not just artistic positioning but a moral imperative.
In a year when Australian politics feels increasingly disconnected from lived reality, when housing costs spiral beyond imagination, and when wealth inequality reaches levels that would make robber barons blush, Social Cohesion arrives as both soundtrack and battle cry. It's not perfect – some tracks feel like they could push their sonic experiments further, and occasionally the political messaging could benefit from more nuance. But as a statement of intent and a demonstration of possibility, this album announces MUDRAT as one of the most vital voices in Australian underground music.
This is music for the dispossessed, the overworked, the underhoused, and the righteously pissed off. In other words, this is music for most of us. And that might be the most revolutionary thing about it.
Social Cohesion is available independently.
https://mudratmp3.bandcamp.com/album/social-cohesion-2
Catch MUDRAT live on the Social Cohesion Tour – check dates at mudrat.net
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