Western Australia’s RATSALAD return with ‘Pest From The West’, a loud, honest and unapologetically regional punk record that captures life growing up in a coastal country town and throwing yourself at the world.
Written in Geraldton (Jambinu, Southern Yamatji Land), the album leans into everything that defines the band; humour, chaos, community and sharp social commentary. Across the record RATSALAD balance tongue-in-cheek storytelling with more personal moments, taking aim at everything from the absurdity of modern housing prices to identity, belonging and growing up outside the spotlight of major cities.
Built on fast, melodic songwriting and high-energy delivery, ‘Pest From The West’ is designed for sweaty rooms and festival stages, reflecting the band’s rise through relentless touring, sold out shows and headline festival appearances including Nannup Music Festival and Kalbarri Open Air.
Following a breakout European tour in 2025, RATSALAD will return in 2026 for a run of major European festivals, further cementing their place as one of Australia’s most exciting grassroots punk exports.
Raw, fun and proudly from the wrong side of the map, ‘Pest From The West’ is RATSALAD at their most confident, and their utmost selves.
REVIEWS:
OurZone TV
‘Pest From The West’ embodies everything we love about RATSALAD., while showcasing sharper musicianship throughout. An exciting new chapter awaits – one they thoroughly deserve.
9/10 – Rob
Turn & Work
Australia is one of the most urbanised nations in the world.
Around 73% of the Australian population live in urban areas.
Anyone from a small country town in Australia will tell you that it comes with a unique perspective. You get to experience a tight-knit community, being close to nature, and a chance to work in different industries, like farming. But there are downsides. Cities have better infrastructure. Cities have more job opportunities. Cities have a wider variety of art.
Youngsters from small country towns often leave for the city in search of culture.
But what happens when you move to the city and find out that the culture just… sucks?
RATSALAD’s frontwoman Jaz is here to tell you. Their new song “Art School Dropout (Jaz Origin Story)” tells us about young Jaz’s decision to move to the city and go to art school. She gets bullied. She gets talked down to. The other students shit on her artistic process because she finishes her paintings too fast. Unfortunately, Jaz has a short attention span and her patience for bullshit is limited. “Your paintings are shit,” she screams at the end. It’s a cathartic howl of defiance towards an industry that remains intolerant of difference of any sort.
“Art School Dropout (Jaz Origin Story)” is the first track on RATSALAD’s second album Pest From The West. The album is furious, high-energy, sweaty, in-your-face, a little bit rude. The band are unafraid to call out toxic masculinity, big town privilege and bullying, delivering the messages with blistering punk riffs and witty lyrics. Word has it that their live shows are absolutely feral. Jaz will even do a few handstands on stage to liven things up.
The band – consisting of Jaz, Ken (guitar and vocals), Kadin (guitar and vocals) and Erica (drums and vocals) – come from Geraldton, Western Australia. It’s a coastal town standing between the red dirt and the blue sea. The band should be proud of where they come from, and they are. “If I lived in the city then I’d need to be rich, but I don’t want to live ten k’s from the beach,” Jaz yells on “Bike Beach Pub”. Me neither, lead singer.
It seems like the media is full of messaging about bullying. And yet, I’ve confronted people who’ve bullied or harassed me only to hear, “That’s not bullying. You’re being oversensitive.” I don’t know what the answer is, but I think talking about it (or singing about it, or screaming about it) at least isn’t going to hurt. On “Bullying=Shit”, the band go through a list of different types of bullying that just suck. It might not reach any of the people who hurt me, but it made me feel seen, and that’s something.
RATSALAD is against a lot of things, but they also stand for something, too. Kindness. Empathy. Friendship. Being true to yourself. If you can do it with a killer riff, so much the better.
