Our take: Debut 7-songer from this Swedish band and man is this hitting the sweet spot! The first thing you'll probably notice when you check out Strul is that the vocalist is a dead ringer for Poffen from Totalitär. If the band sounded too much like Totalitär I'd probably be stoked but also a little wary; however, Strul have a pretty distinctive sound that recalls, to me at least, your basic punk riffs sped up and played with hardcore speed and heaviness. Those two things combined mean that they sound a little bit like those Krig I Hudik EPs where a bunch of people in current Swedish bands covered obscure Swedish punk tunes from the late 70s and early 80s. Even if you aren't familiar with those records, fans of aggressive punk music from early 80s Scandinavia that toed the line between UK82 and hardcore--I'm thinking anything from Missbrukarna to Appendix to Svart Framtid--will love this. The playing can be a tad sloppy at times, but for me that just adds to the charm. A real under the radar rager.
