Caught in a Trap are four, to a certain extent, hefty dudes with beards playing distinctive NYHC styled hardcore which really come as no surprise since they reside in both Brooklyn and Queens. If by some reason you don't know what NYHC sounds like, imagine tough metallic riffs placed over frenetic drumming where everyone in attendance tries to kill each other on the dance floor and then goes have a beer at whatever seedy bar happens to be next door.
If Caught in a Trap sounds like anything, it's Built to Last-era Sick of it All with Artie from Indecision handling the vocal chores. There's nothing on Rats Get Fat that I haven't heard before but I'm thankful that Caught in a Trap draws their influences from decent NYHC bands rather than the moronic underbelly of the Big Apple which is lead by 25 ta Life and rounded out by bands like Everyone Gets Hurt and Irate. Horrible music played by skeezy dudes for the utmost mosh carnage while pledging allegiance to whatever crew that helps them kick the asses of their enemies.
Caught in a Trap comes off to me as hardworking blue collar dudes that like to drink their share and just happen to be in a hardcore band. Lyrically I probably live in the polar opposite region when it comes to living in the streets and dealing with douche bags so I have a hard time relating with this band's mentality. The Ford Parkway is full of Old Russian Jews not thug tough guys and faux mafia guidos looking for a fight. However, Caught in a Trap do cover universal themes of corrupt government institutions, losing a friend, friends being family, and nice dudes finishing last. These are lyrics that anyone west of Ellis Island can relate too.
Rats Get Fat doesn't present anything new to me. Nevertheless, I know my NYHC well enough to know a good band from a horrendous one, and Caught in a Trap is a good one. The fourteen tracks speed past me by at a menacing rate complete with hard intros, fast as hell choruses, and well placed breakdowns which never come off as the main part of the tune. Rats Get Fat is not yet another thick skulled trip into the bowels of the Bowery. It's a fun, sometimes even catchy, hardcore album full of bouncy punk rhythms surrounded by testosterone-fueled mayhem that comes off as more badge of honor than a menacing facade. I'd also like to note Rats Get Fat is produced by the Russell Simmons of NYHC, Don Fury.
