Brooklyn’s Katorga Works and Rochester’s Rational Animals, the pride of the“Rotcore” scene, know rock n’ roll music, plain and simple, so when they collaborate you know that something special is afoot. On this slice of vinyl heaven, the My War-isms and more straightforward (though no less compelling) hardcore of Rational Animals’ excellent 2011 LP Bock Rock Parade have gradually transformed into something a bit more idiosyncratic and indicative of their own unique take on punk rock n’ roll. In short, the A-side, “Cross-Eyed Delights” is an absolutely brilliant song and is Rational Animals greatest achievement in an already wildly-impressive body of work. It twists and turns, writhing in a jumbled heap of frustrated and depressive lyrics (“I have nothing to do/And no place to go/And I don’t have to wake up till tomorrow afternoon”) while the instrumental work is endlessly creative, with enough interesting melodic and harmonic touches to keep a music-major punk happy. With one foot in the past and one in the future, the song has a pronounced late 80’s/early 90’s underground rock bent, when loud, noisy guitar bands with palpable ties to punk like Dinosaur Jr., Unwound, and The Jesus Lizard ruled the day. Though I have heaped hyperbolic praise on the A-side, the B-side, “Way After Midnight,” is another fantastic track that should not be ignored. On this slow-burner, Rational Animals continue to deviate from the more straightforward hardcore that they formerly dealt in while still keeping later-period Black Flag as an obvious touchstone. This bluesy romp is downright grungy and would not sound out of place alongside early Mudhoney. I don’t know what contagion has contaminated the water up in Rochester, but, for all our sakes, let’s hope that the well does not run dry soon. Pick it up from Katorga Works, who are kind enough to offer a free download of the 7” on their site.