One of the three best new Rock bands of the moment!
EP Cover
Radkey is an edgy new Rock band from Missouri. The band is made up of three brothers – Dee, Isaiah and Solomon Radke. The teenage trio are bursting onto the UK scene with their debut EP Cat & Mouse which promises some mega afro-punk noise.
After a first listen of the EP, it’s easy to hear the obvious punk influences running through the tracks, with elements of Rock, Metal and Grunge. If you like your guitars crunching and your drums thrashing, well, you’re in luck here with this band.
Although Cat & Mouse is the lead track for this release, the best tracks on the EP are Out Here In My Head and Red Letter. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the titled single, it’s not a bad track, it has a great guitar solo on it but it just lacks something.
Both Out Here In My Head and Red Letter offer a repetitive and catchy chorus with growling vocals from Dee Radke. There is a racing tempo of guitars and keys; both tracks have the ability to catapult the band into great success. Radkey reminds us that punk-rock isn’t dead; it’s just evolving for a new generation.
Radkey tackle racial and social issues in the final track N.I.G.G.A. It’s hard to ignore the message behind the lyrics. Harmonies and deadly riffs are present on the fourth track Pretty Things. It’s easy to think these boys have been crafting their art for years – not releasing their debut EP. If there was something I disliked about their sound it was the ‘screamo.’ That is only my personal preference though, as that kind of noise isn’t satisfying to my ears.
The Cat & Mouse EP does show great promise for Radkey, with a small collection of already great songs they are a band for fans of the old school punk rock as well as mainstream rock. The anger and frustration combined drum-bashing and general noise-making produces a vast sound which demands immediate attention. Cat & Mouse is everything that good rock music should be.
The Guardian are naming them 'One of the three best new Rock bands of the moment' and Zane Lowe says 'Radkey my new favourite band & will be yours too soon!'
Being a new and upcoming band is difficult as they are immediately judged and their first dip in the music industry will define the rest of their career. Radkey make it look so easy, their music isn’t something that is going to phase in and then phase out of the charts. Radkey are here to stay. What’s their secret? I personally believe that family bands have instant success due to the bond between the band members. If the band is close-knit then the music will be too.
Cat & Mouse is available now.
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