The last song of the Oklahoma City group’s aptly titled album
could be the first, as there’s no letup of enthusiasm, speed or snare drum in their pop-punk debut.
Highlight “Talk Me to Sleep” features the best lyric (“They’re asking us to die for something / While asking us to live for nothing”) and the strongest chorus of the batch. That’s not to say that melodies are in short supply; these tracks are nothing if not catchy. This is the stuff that sweaty, circle-pit sing-a-longs are made of.
There’s nothing here you haven’t heard a bazillion times before: charging guitars, frantic drumming, throat-shredding shouted vocals, melodic sung choruses and young enthusiasm everywhere you can apply it. It’s just that Red City Radio does it better. I remember these songs, where other bands’ similar tunes would bounce right off.
In addition to being life-affirming and enthusiastic, the lyrics name-check Oklahoma and Oklahoma City often, which is a cool feeling (“50th & Western”). If you’ve seen Red City Radio live, you know how much fun they are, and this release is an extension of that. —Stephen Carradini
This article appears in May 18-24, 2011.