Hailing from Philadelphia, Battalion Zośka are a punk rock band drawing from many influences while still maintaining a distinct style all their own. The band has the chops to handle the material and they jump from straightforward rock/punk to pop/punk (the good kind) to hardcore (once again, the good kind). The players are all top notch with slamming drums, busy bass lines and tasty guitar solos.

The band has an unusual name steeped in intrigue. I asked singer Pat Society about the origin of the band name. “We named the band after Batalion Zośka who were a scouting battalion for the polish resistance part of the polish home army who fought against the Nazis in WW2,” he replied. “We Americanized the spelling of Battalion by adding a second T.” This makes sense since some of the lyrics deal with social issues that veer into the politics of war.

When listening to the record it is obvious that the band listens to and absorbed many facets of punk rock music. Over the course of the record you can detect the DNA of bands like the You era Government Issue, Feel The Darkness Poison Idea and Milo Goes To College Descendents with a nod to Ramones and Sex Pistols also. Pat acknowledges this and reveals that it was part of the plan to bring all these elements together. “I grew up on all those 70s and 80s bands,” Pat says. “I wanted to make a super catchy punk record with intelligent lyrics that sounded raw and produced like a record from the time period I grew up.”

Pat and the band accomplished that. As for Pat himself his vocals are gruff and growly but he is able to slide between musical styles without missing a beat. The CD is out now and a vinyl edition is forthcoming.