First Impressions is a collection of whiz-bang reviews, primarily of shorter albums (EPs and singles) which are given a review after a single listen. This is a great way for TGEFM to showcase some of the releases which wouldn’t get a full review on their own.
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Ralphie’s Red Ryders – “Playing Keepers”
OUTLOUD! Records, 20 June 2021
And here I thought Ralphie’s Red Ryders was going to be a strictly Christmas season phenomenon. “Playing Keepers (My Summer Story)” follows in the footsteps of November’s You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out, with its fuzzy rhythm guitars, mid-tempo pop bounce, clean guitar leads, and singalong vocal lines (even a great “ba-ba” part). I’ll be singing the back-and-forth outro “we’re playing keepers, I’m gonna win”) for a while now.
Review by RYAN
Freezing Cold – “Stuck on Hold b/w Drawn to Scale”
Salinas Records, 25 June 2021
Freezing Cold strikes me as a pretty mellow indie band with an obvious affinity for pretty melodic turns. The leadoff, “Stuck on Hold”, sort of comes off like I remember Mates of State sounding without the keys. Still, the melodies are pretty (especially on the chorus). “Drawn to Scale” isn’t quite as outwardly endearing, but it has some delicate strikes of the guitar and a fuzzy lead just past halfway through that’s cool. And the vocals on the chorus hit a spot that reminds me of a song that’s just beyond the reach of my brain. Comfortable and familiar.
Favorite song: “Stuck on Hold”
Review by RYAN
The Gun Sharks – “Hate Me”
Self-released, 23 June 2021
“Hate Me” is the first I’ve heard from SoCal band The Gun Sharks. It’s got a bunch of drive and pop and buzzing rhythm guitar. The vocals are prominent and sort of lo-fi and the voices alternate, but stay raspy no matter who’s giving it a go and I like the vocals a lot as they sound sort of desperate and weathered. But the star is the lead guitar that jumps out front at the start and pops back up later. The slowdown and “whoa-oh” on the chorus is okay, too. Still, I like this pretty well.
Review by RYAN
Saturday Night Karaoke – “Millennial Kicks”
Bloated Kat Records, 2 July 2021
“Millennial Kicks” is poppy like crazy, with all sorts of buzzing behind the guitars and cool backing vocals joining in on the fun to accent the end of each verse run-through and again on the chorus. Fun guitar hooks are all over this thing and the quick bridge is kind of weird and off in all the right ways. Oh, and dig the guitar lead near the wrap-up. This goes over with so much exuberance. Fantastic stuff.
Review by RYAN
gnawing – “You Freak Me Out”
Refresh Records, 29 June 2021
gnawing comes up with another song that hits me right. The repeated “you freak me out” at the end of each verse line really sinks in deep with some jaded vocals tumbling subtly intriguing melodies over some shambolic driving rock and roll. Throw in some layered feedback and an effect-laden and super-fuzzy guitar solo, and you’ve got another winner here. Every time I hear something by gnawing, I can’t help but be reminded of Dino Jr, but hot damn do I like it.
Review by RYAN
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
