White Reaper – White Reaper

I’m not sure if the sound of White Reaper’s eponymous release comes from a Dolly Parton inspired attitude of “it takes a lot of money to sound this rough” or whether their authenticity is…well, authentic. It certainly gives the impression of back to basics, low budget, retro style recording approach, which is always going to get my vote. Sounding like the basement experiments of The Stooges toying with punk-psychedelia these six slices of abrasive yet enticing music meander between garage-rock and a warped sometimes jangly, more often balls to the wall post punk. And whilst final track Ohh (Yeah) is the obvious single not least for it’s fusion of Motown vibes and MC5 power drives,  it is opening salvo Cool that best informs the punter as to what they are all about. Bubblegum pop lyrical deliveries sit over relentless rhythm which quickly get under your skin moving from annoyingly repetitive to wonderfully infectious in no time at all.

There is lots to love about this e.p. The punk adherence to the short and sweet delivery, eerie sixties sic-fi movie keyboards, how it is much cleverer in it’s execution that it appears on first spin, how it evokes all the energy and attitude that the live shows are all about.

It’s a short, sharp, shock of an e.p. that snakes, grooves, pushes and pulls within the confines of it’s garage punk bubble but when it occasionally bursts that bubble and sucks in other unexpected influences from pop to soul, goth to psychedelia, it is nothing short of brilliant.