Album Review: Bokassa - "Molotov Rocktail"

Let’s take some of the guess work out of this right away – you know Pro-Pain?  Sure you do, you know Pro-Pain.  Old school NYHC, lots of vitriol and overdriven guitars, simple but direct and evocative lyrics, testosterone for days.

Well, if you took Pro-Pain, and made them a bunch of happy but cynical drunks, the result would be Bokassa’s “Molotov Rocktail.”  It’s a bombastic romp through a tilted Norwegian mead hall, as the punks from Trondheim rumble and swagger through eleven cuts that vacillate between vague social commentary and downright silly.

The first thing that strikes about Bokassa’s new release is that, much in the same vein as we’ve discussed with bands like Destrage, there is always, always a big, melodic, hooky chorus that ropes the listener in.  The verses and music may get wayward in the interim, but the big loop always come back around with a classic punk gang vocal that gives each song a touchstone.

But there’s way more here than meets the eye.  Bokassa could have easily recorded just another beer-swilling punk record, but each track finds a little twist that separates it from both the pack and each other.  Is it the cheerleader chanting of “Pitchforks R Us”?  Is it the delightfully unexpected brass accompaniment of “Low (And Behold)” or “Hereticules”?  The cowbell of “Godless”?  Is it the Cheshire grin of the singalong chorus to the single “So Long Idiots!”?  Could be any one of them, each track has just a little something in there that draws the attention.  There are unusual and ingenious combinations around every corner.

Now, that’s not to say that the pure punk and metal mixture that sets the baseline for the record is of a lower octane.  Nono, there are plenty of super-heavy beats and strong riffs that carry the album.  The album never takes a break, there is no filler or misplaced, poorly executed ballads here; the energy is just as strong at the start for “So Long Idiots!” as it is for the rocky undulations of “Code Red” down towards the end.

It should be said that if you focused solely on the music here, without the intriguing adornments as mentioned above, there’s nothing here you haven’t heard before.  There have been a hundred bands that have sounded like this to some degree – Worthless United and Viking Skull both came to mind when listening to “Molotov Rocktail,” among others.  That doesn’t necessarily subtract from the album – everything here is tightly executed and well-orchestrated.  It just isn’t musically revolutionary.

There’s a lot of meat on the bone here, and fans of multiple genres will find something to like.  The creative flourishes and infectious energy of the album alone are worth the price of admission, and the juxtaposition of sing-song choruses filled with ardently cynical lyrics is an accomplished mix.  “Molotov Rocktail” is a great album, and should not be missed.