White Reaper
White Reaper Does It Again
Polyvinyl
Indie Rock bands are having fun again, and not in an ironic hipster kind of realm of pretend, in an unapologetic, unwashed, unfiltered sort of way. Louisville, Kentucky’s White Reaper join the ranks of JEFF the Brotherhood, Pujol, and FIDLAR – a club I’ve conjured up in my own mind – of bands that are cool without trying to be cool. Cool because they project an air of not giving a shit if anyone thinks that they’re cool. And, let me just say, this album – White Reaper Does It Again – is really, really COOL.
This debut full length, on Polyvinyl, is the followup to an EP they put out last year and illustrates why these four dudes have, as their press release proclaims, “more fun on a Tuesday night than you do on a Saturday.” A rolling drum beat blasts into a garage rock opening track called “Make Me Wanna Die,” whose playfully psychedelic keyboards and soaring guitar solo make it feel like The Strokes covering The Sonics. The reverb on the vocals and ra ra sis boom bah melody gives “Last 4th of July” an anthemic, fun feel. “Sheila” is a straight up super fun rock ‘n’ roll song that recalls The Cars and The Ramones simultaneously, and “Candy” is just that – a pure, tasty confection. Really, there’s not a “skip it” in the bunch. White Reaper has done it again.
