Out Of The Blue
New West, 2019
9/10
The youngsters that make up Kentucky’s Dan Luke And The Raid sing songs about all the hallmarks of being in your 20s- parties, broken hearts, drugs, etc.- and their music follows suit with a sloppy approach where distortion, jagged rhythm and bursts of synth all unfold in charming ways.
“Farrah Mantra” starts the listen with fuzzy sounds in the quirky rock tune, and “Disco Is As Disco Does” follows with a retro-pop feeling that’s heavy on melody as well as nostalgia with New Wave stabs.
Elsewhere, “Money Mouth” recruits a garage rock spirit with fiery guitar work, while “Golden Age” takes a multifaceted approach of ‘60s sounds and hazy alt-rock. “Maybe It’s The Drugs”, the album highlight, then jangles and bounces with a throwback spirit that hardly sounds like it emanated from guys just barely old enough to legally drink.
Near the end, “Black Cat Heavy Metal” offers a stadium sized rocker of massive fuzz and anthemic prowess, and “Last Goodbyes” exits the listen calm and melodic, tragically almost as if a premonition of the devastation that would strike the band after recording this album.
Sadly, guitarist Dylan Graves passed away in April of this year, but he certainly left his stamp on the fun and adventurousness that is Out Of The Blue. There’s some serious talent present here from kids who probably listen to The Beatles just as much as they do Lou Reed, and they certainly are chipping away at a sound all their own that’s impossible not to enjoy.
Travels well with: Andrew Combs- Ideal Man; White Reaper- The World’s Best American Band