Bootboy rock? Rock’n’roll? Punk’n’roll? Skinhead rock’n’roll? Bovver beat?
Call it what you want — what really matters is that this debut 12″ from Boston’s Badterms is a damn fine slice of rock’n’roll.
The opening track Low End Living is an instant hit — one of those songs that makes you go: „Yeah, I need this record in my collection.“ Zero Generation keeps the momentum going in the same rock’n’roll vein. Hit or Miss is a cover of an Eddie and the Hot Rods tune, played a notch faster than the original and beautifully reimagined in Badterms‘ own style.
The playful guitar lead in Steal Everything absolutely gets me — my second favorite track on the record. Tip the Cup is the kind of song that begs to be blasted while driving.
Just for the record: there is last track Special Kind of Crazy, making it six songs in total — all of them lyrically focused on everyday life, delivered with a playful, streetwise charm.
I’m playing Badterms on my turntable when I’m not in the mood for war anthems or the heavier, hardcore-tinged side of the scene. If you’re an Oi! hardliner who eats nails for lunch, broken bottles for dinner, and your favorite Christmas song is Violence in Our Minds, then this might feel like a light snack — something for your low-calorie days. But that lightness, that bounce, that freshness — that’s where this record shines. It’s likely to appeal to listeners who lean more toward psychobilly, rockabilly, or bands from the ’77 punk wave like Eddie and the Hot Rods or The Vibrators — just with a slightly more modern sound.
Released by Lionheart Records, this 12″ comes in two editions: 115 copies on black vinyl and 214 on clear. The booklet includes all lyrics — except for the Eddie cover.
As a debut? Absolutely spot on.
The record oozes dancefloor energy and has huge live potential — and I’m genuinely curious to see how they’ll sound on stage.
If you’ve got the chance to catch them live, do it. For us in Europe, that chance comes in August 2025, when Badterms hits the road for their European tour.
TOP TRACKS: Low End Living, Steal Everything
