Ohhhh, I’m pretty excited! The last time White Reaper put out a new album it was pre-pandemic and I also missed seeing them open for The Killers at a free show for MLB’s All-Star Weekend. Beyond bummed. But, it’s a new year and the band have just released their fourth full-length album, Asking for a Ride. And, oh yeah, I get to see them twice this year!
Let’s just say this new album kicks the excitement level up a notch. It’s a quick and dirty 10-track album, reaching back to their quasi-punk roots, but this time along they’ve also added some more rock and synth elements leading to a well-rounded sound. This album clocks in right around the thirty minute mark – that rivals The Chats’ work! – and it’s so damn good from start to finish. Clearly, I was a big fan of it. Prior to the album’s release I’d already heard three singles, but the rest of the track-list fits in nicely to what they already had established. A cohesive album, for sure.
A song that I found myself singing back in between YouTube commercial breaks was one of the singles, “Fog Machine,” which I hadn’t listened to again since they dropped it. It’s so freaking catchy! Similarly, closing track and lead single, “Pages” really grows on you. It fakes you out a bit with the acoustic guitar at the beginning, but I dare you not to sing that chorus after you hear it. “Funny Farm” was another song that really stood out to me on this first listen because it leaned more on some hardcore roots, but really, all of them were good. I imagine this will be an album on repeat most of the year.
On this record, the band seemed to emulate a lot of different styles, and I also have to wonder if they were influenced by particular bands. For instance, the title track, “Fog Machine,” and “Pink Slip” tended to remind me of early AFI, although with a much more different vocal style. Similarly, the last thirty seconds or so of “Funny Farm” had me thinking of several Death From Above 1979 tracks. They did a great job of mixing around punk sounds, straight rock, synths, and acoustics with an 80s flair at times. After just one cycle through, the lyrics seemed to tend towards general defiance and the end of a relationship. Wholly relatable.
Look, I’m all in on this new album, and you should be, too!