REVIEW: Bratakus - Hagridden

BRATAKUS have built themselves up with a fierce DIY punk ethos that has persisted since their inception. The two sisters, BRÈAGHA and ONNAGH CUINN hail from the highlands of Scotland, just outside the tiny village of Tomintoul; they make up for the peace and quiet out there by being as loud and aggressive as humanly possible. They’re punchy, fiery, and incredibly political - everything you could ask for in a DIY riot grrrl band. Their upcoming debut album Hagridden stuffs their insatiable punk energy into a tight ten-track package that only leaves us wanting more.

The duo waste no time with Final Girls, the energetic opening riffs immediately dragging us into their grimy underground world. This track has been with us for almost a year, but it refuses to get old; the guitars alone make this song a shot of adrenaline that simultaneously keeps us on our toes and serves as an excellent introductory statement to the band and this album. They keep that energy through second track Turnstile, the sisters’ dynamic dual vocals a definite standout element on this one. Following is Real Men Eat Meat, a harsh, aggressive takedown of macho-man mentality and their staunch opposition to veganism and the animal rights movement. This is where BRATAKUS shine - they don’t shy away from taking political stances, standing tall on their soapboxes and shouting their causes, underlined with the sheer rawness of their vocals.

Following is Hypocritical, a track that can only be described as a hurricane on fire; it’s a whirlwind that spins us around with its breakneck pace, threatening to burn down everything in its vicinity through sheer aggression. It doesn’t just ask for a mosh pit, it demands one. A groovy rhythm leads us from that into Worth It, a track with memorable riffs that we know we’ll be humming all day. As the track nears its end, they reiterate the message: “This cycle of exploitation, it never ends!” This one is by far one of the album’s best, carrying everything from high-octane riffs and rhythms to heavy political messaging and raw, bleeding vocals.

Tokened is another track that had its release last year, and its message will definitely stand the test of time. “We won’t be tokened! We won’t be broken!” the sisters sing, crying out against the tokenisation of women today and throughout history - especially in the music industry, where if a band is composed of women, they’re often defined as a ‘girl band’ instead of being allowed to simply be a band. Tonight follows, another fast-paced banger from the duo, though around the midpoint they slow into a grungier, edgier section that helps the track stand out from the others.

After that is Behave, another track that shouts about the treatment of women, commanding men to behave, to stop treating them like a piece of meat and to keep their hands to themselves. Drowning comes in as the penultimate track, one that trades out the duo’s signature shouty riot grrrl vocals for a vocal style reminiscent of nineties grunge bands like HOLE - before long however, we’re thrown into another set of raw chant-like verses that give this track an element of variety that marks it as a clear standout in the album. The only criticism this track brings to the album is that it leaves us wanting more in this style. Finally, Hagridden wraps up with Cut Us, a return to the sisters’ defining sound. It combines deliberate barbed-wire riffs and basslines with razor-sharp vocals, and gives listeners a chorus designed for live shows - one the audience are sure to be shouting along with the band, fists raised high in the air.

Hagridden is an album that encapsulates everything that’s great about the Proclaimers of punk, dripping with their DIY punk mentality and bursting at the seams with a frenetic energy that keeps us on our toes throughout the ten incendiary tracks. The sisters are a breath of fresh air in today’s music industry; they’re entirely unafraid and outspoken about their political stances, covering ground from animal rights, to feminism and the treatment of women in the industry, to the brainwashing attempts prevalent in mainstream media. BRATAKUS are making their mark, and they’re doing it in their own punk way; loud, aggressive, and unforgettable.

Score: 8/10

Hagridden will be released on February 13th 2026 via Venn Records.

Words: Naomi Colliar Duff

Photos: Lee Lewis