Here we have yet another confirmation that France is cementing itself right at the forefront of the modern Street Punk and Oi! scene. Their primary weapon is the wide variety of sounds that the current crop of bands are producing, and Outreau definitely play a vital role on that frontline. Taking their cues from the early US Hardcore scene from Detroit, DC, Boston and so on, but mixing it in with some early French punk sounds, they have a nihilistic, rudimentary sound that is designed for maximum impact. On first listen, it is the fist-in-the-face impact of their Negative Approach/ Black Flag/ Void style that hits you, but dig a little and you can hear subtle, twisted melodies happening on the bass and that gives the songs greater depth. At times it\’s not too far from what the likes of The Flex are doing, and that my friends is no bad thing. Tom Chapman