The Rats sound like the exact moment a 1960s garage rock obsession collides with the bleak reality of the early 1980s. It is music stripped of all artifice, recorded with a sense of urgency that suggests the tape was running out or the rent was due. The guitars are thin and biting, the drums are relentless and primitive, and the vocals carry a distinctive snarl that feels both weary and dangerous.
What truly sets them apart is the chemistry between Fred and Toody Cole, a partnership that would later define the legendary Dead Moon. Here, that bond is in its rawest form, forging a sound that is more aggressive than traditional garage rock but more melodic and structured than pure hardcore punk. There is a haunted, skeletal quality to the arrangements that captures the isolation of the Portland scene before it became a cultural hub.
Start with their 1980 self-titled debut or 'Intermittent Signals'. These recordings serve as the essential bridge between the psychedelic garage of the 60s and the DIY punk ethic of the 80s, offering a masterclass in how to make a massive impact with the most basic tools available.
The Rats were an American garage punk band from Portland, Oregon, formed by Fred Cole previously of the garage rock band, The Lollipop Shoppe. Cole played guitar and sang, his wife, Toody Cole played bass and sang, and initially Rod Rat (Rod Hibbert) played drums. Their sound was described as a raw mix of punk rock with occasional country touches. Their self-titled debut album appeared on Cole's Whizeagle label in 1980. Afterward, Rod Rat departed from the band, and died by suicide. (Prior to his suicide Rod Rat also played drums in 1980-81 for Portland power pop band Domino Theory). Sam Henry, formerly of the Wipers, played drums on this LP but left to join another Portland band, Napalm Beach. Louis Samora took over the drumming duties for the band's 1983 album "In a Desperate Red," which was also released under the Whizeagle label. However, he departed from the band in 1984 to focus on his rockabilly group, The Jackals. After The Rats disbanded in 1984 Bill Barker of Profile Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia convinced the band to reunite for a single. It appeared under the band name The Desperate Edge later in 1984. Soon after, Cole assembled a country band, Western Front, and he and Toody later reunited in Dead Moon. In 2008, Portland's Mississippi Records reissued the first album on vinyl. The two-part song "The Rat's Revenge" - which appeared on the 1983 compilation Back from the Grave - was performed (some 15 years prior) by a different band under the same name.
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