Meeting the English band Bad Nerves at a concert in Paris in October 2023 marked a turning point for the group. While in the process of writing new material, the Toulon-based band decided to call on Mike Curtis (who had produced Bad Nerves’ recordings) to mix their fifth album. Influenced as much by 77 punk (The Damned, Buzzcocks) as by more contemporary references (Stiff Richards, ), “Fake Brutal” is above all the result of a perpetual quest for sonic and melodic effectiveness, begun a decade earlier. Thirteen tracks with unstoppable riffs, delivered without a break in rhythm or downtime and enhanced by the work of Mike Curtis, assisted by Christian Wright of Abbey Road Studios for the mastering.