Imagine my delight, then, when I learned that frontman\/bassist Darrel Wojick and guitarist Mike Caputo had formed a new band, Brigata Vendetta<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joined by Bum City Saints<\/strong> drummer Brian Zobel, they’ve created a new sound which owes more to ’80s US hardcore than the streetpunk for which its members were known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Is How Democracy Dies<\/em> is their debut album, consisting of 13 songs written over the course of three months and recorded in one weekend with one-time Harrington Saints collaborator Scott McChane producing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s very different to anything done by Darrel’s rock ‘n’ roll project Suede Razors<\/strong> too, with more personal and introspective lyrics than anything the members have done before.<\/p>\n\n\n It grapples with issues of grief, loss, personal growth, and relationships, alongside the inevitable frustrations with the modern world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brigata Vendetta’s first release was a four-track EP in 2022, but this is a set of all-new songs. To call it short, hard and fast is something of an understatement, as it positively flies by in just 20 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s a relentless listen from start to finish, with galloping guitars, a dirty bass sound and furious drumming, and the Bay Area veterans have clearly left nothing in the studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opening track Get The Spirit<\/em> sets the tone for what follows, with its face-melting tempo, and like all the songs here, it doesn’t make the two-minute mark (the closer Greenies <\/em>isn’t even half that!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n One slice of raging hardcore follows another: Embrace <\/em>(about capitalism killing society), ’87 Again<\/em> (the new Cold War), and If This Is Life<\/em> (dissatisfaction with your lot) are all bangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"brigata](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ipamusic.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/brigata-vendetta.jpg?resize=640%2C428\")