Growing up, I’m used to listening to my dad’s favorite songs. His jam is mostly from the 60s to early 80s which are gold and had an impact on my childhood. In fact, songs from the said era are one of my first karaoke songs as a kid. Full disclosure, some of them are still one of my karaoke songs up until the moment I’m writing this review.
I think this is the reason why the 2nd album of the four-piece band The Racketeers, which is entitled “Toothache” smoothly climbed its way into my head quickly. What I mean with “quickly” here is seven seconds. Yes, you read it right. Seven seconds.
The album’s opener “Sundown” gives its listeners a strong brit-pop vibe with some subtle touch of indie-rock. I can imagine this track as an unreleased song of one of the classic bands I like, The Beatles.
Followed by the songs “Half-hearted”, “Part of The Story” and “Glitter”, this band shows in these songs their impressive surfy guitar loops which are perfectly matched with their lively drum beats.
The track “Hey Smile (It’s Been A While)” marks the half of this album. This is my personal favorite here because aside from its Beach Boys touch, incredible guitar riffs and on point harmonies, the lyrics are very relatable. Here’s some of its lyrics:
“But don’t go thinking you’re the one to blame
And don’t go thinking that you did it again
Hey smile, it’s been a while”
Perfectly followed by their 6th song which is a much slower track entitled “Orange and Hazy”. It has a surprising build-up on its midway to the end which is like giving us the treat of 2 flavors of ice cream in one cup.
Next are the songs “Make a Break” and “No Show”. These songs merged folk and rock genres perfectly. Moreover, there are a bit more vocal harmonies to these tracks which made it more ear candy. The “ohhh” parts in the “No Show” kinda melted my heart specially that it was followed by moving lyrics. Here are my favorite lines in this song:
“Now, I might not seem to be exactly what you expected me to be
Now, I don’t know what to say, hoping that I’ll see you today”
I wonder if this band had a glimpse of my journal. Hmm.
Their 9th and last track on this album is entitled “Climbing Walls”. This time, this band uses slower tempo, simpler guitar strums and relatively fewer vocal harmonies. This song seems to have more personal lyrics compared to their previous tracks. I think the lyricist wore his heart on his sleeves while writing this piece.
In conclusion, if you love songs having a 60’s vibe infused with modern twist and relatable lyrics, this album is definitely a must try. I think I can complement this all day, but it would be better if you’ll just try them by yourself.
You can check them on major music platforms such as Spotify, Bandcamp, and Apple Music. If I were you, I would check them out right now and wouldn’t miss one of the best 27 mins of my life.