Year of the Rat

The debut disc from the female-fronted Big Apple quartet NY Loose, Year of the Rat, is a blast of snarling street-urchin attitude offset by the charming hint of contrivance in singer-guitarist Brijitte West’s vocals. Ripping through hard, hooky songs like ”Pretty Suicide,” West and cohorts deliver the album Pat Benatar could have made if she’d had the early Clash as her backup band. B+