A punk walks into a brat_band show. As his eyes adjust to the pink and red lights washing over the bandstand, he sees Liz Selfish stalking the stage like a lioness circling her prey, punctuating her pursuit with cheer kicks and burlesque shimmies. There’s a moment of aural confusion, too: Is that Britney Spears’s “Toxic” playing through the PA? Before he’s had time to process it all, the synth violins disappear into blast beats and pulverizing guitar, and Selfish replaces the sweet seduction of Spears’s vocal line with her own hellacious growls. This aesthetic, dubbed “Bimboviolence” by the New Orleans band, is polarizing by design, demanding respect and disregarding those unwilling to give it. Our punk is left with two options: Stand in silent judgment in the back, or get in the pit. Read hamiltonthemixtape’s The Opener profile with the band at the link in bio. 📸 Vanessa Valadez #BRAT #TheOpener