Tuesday, October 1, 2013

REVIEW: Radkey "Devil Fruit" EP



We've been keeping an eye on Radkey for awhile, writing about them here earlier this year. These three teenage brothers, from St Joseph, Missouri have just released a 4 song EP that bursts not only with potential but with right now.

These guys have it all - a really good lead vocalist, fantastic guitar sounds, kick ass rhythm section - the sound and the fury. Whatever label you want to throw on them - punk, garage, thrash - will work well enough but there's a signature sound here.

Check out the lead track here "Romance Dawn":



What I like best about this music is how tuneful it is. And the big singalong harmonies take me back to one of the greatest Midwest punk bands of all time, Naked Raygun, who I hear glimpses of in my favorite song here "Little Men".



The third song "Start Freaking Out" is pure adrenalin, unabashed rock, guaranteed to put a smile on your face.  "Overwhelmed" finishes off the EP, which moves at a Ramones pace and with that kind of joy, so it seems over almost before it starts.



An EP is not nearly enough fellas - we want more.

It is amazing that 3 teenagers are turning out this sound. I realize the music industry is in shambles, but some record company needs to sign this band, invest in them, nurture them and watch them rule the world in a few years. While I wouldn't say they sound like Pearl Jam, Radkey hit me a bit like Pearl Jam did the first time I heard them - just such a real band, one for all, all for one, with a unified and clear sense of their own sound.

The absence of black rock bands has long been a mystery to me. Black America not only invented rock'n'roll but all of its influences, a fact that British rock bands always seemed to grasp better than American kids. It's not too late to fix that.  

WYMA is all in for Radkey.

Radkey Facebook page.
They are touring the UK in October- dates here at their web page

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