‘Muzturren aurrian daukauz, Altza burua ta erantzun, Faxismua goitxik eta behetik, Hartu ta ebai errotik’ (Zatitxu Fatxa Hori) / ‘We are facing the enemy, Raise your head and respond, Fascism from above and below, Take it and cut it off by the roots’ (That Little Fascist)

Hailing from the Basque Country, Zikin (Dirty) already have two albums under their belt, including last year’s Bala Galdua Zure Buru Galduan (A Lost Bullet In Your Lost Mind).  Their first 7-inch, Zatitxu (Small Pieces), sees the band continue to hone their well-established core tenets – taut, sinewy guitars, agitated stop-start rhythms, and flares of death rock melodicism.

But these four tracks are delivered with a muscular edge that infuses these constituent elements with an even more pressing velocity.  The urgent Basque vocals match this amplified intensity as they challenge Europe’s fast rising tide of right wing nationalism and the seeming inexorable commercialisation of cultural life.  Yet this ramped up aggression doesn’t dictate that Zikin’s trademark fine detailing is diluted.  From the supple, bouncing mid-song bass lines that propel Zatitxu Fatxa Hori and Trapu Zaharrak (Old Rags), to the gleaming shards of bright, surf-tinged solo that define Gerizpia Iluntzen (The Shadow Is Darkening) it remains very much in evidence.