Review by Dillon Crader
Red City Radio deliver an amazing combination of rock and roll and punk on their new self titled record that immediately pulled me in. Based out of Oklahoma City, Red City Radio has come a long way.
The first time that I listened to the record, I will admit that I didn’t care for the vocals very much, though they definitely eventually grew on me. The vocal work on this album is deeper sounding, but has a great rasp to it, which gives this self-titled album a very punk feel. After listening to the record several times, I quickly began to love the vocal style – they do a great job tying in the grungy, punk feeling for the album.
“Let Me In” was the first track that I really felt that “connection” listeners look for in the music they listen to, and after listening to this track I feel like I know a piece of vocalist Garrett Dale due to the way he portrays emotion in his vocal work. I also enjoyed the “classic” rock and roll style guitar work, especially in the incredibly strong guitar solos and catchy upbeat riffs that are spread throughout the album. One of the best guitar solos in the record comes at about three quarters of the way through “Electricity.”
Instrumentally, this album reminds me quite a bit of The Menzingers, and in the best way possible. There’s a simplicity in the instrumentation that is both beautiful and mature, and the outcome is amazing – I can’t stress enough how amazing and refined the sound on the album is, and how mature Red City Radio sound with this release. An example of this sound would be in the song “…I’ll Catch A Ride,” especially toward the ending of the track.
As I somewhat mentioned before, the lyricism is very strong and true throughout the whole record, and is partially what made it really click with me. Red City Radio has really proven themselves again with this release, and I am definitely excited to see what comes down the road for this band. This self-titled record is an amazing and well put together; from the refined sound, lyricism, emotion and so much more. This record is a must listen.
Rating: 4/5
Listen to “Let Me In”