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White Reaper Does It Again doesn’t waste time propelling listeners into “Make Me Wanna Die.” Despite the song’s title, the blistering guitars and pounding surf-rock beat are sure to make statues wish they could live long enough to pogo along to this song. Keyboardist Ryan Hater keeps the album light and poppy by providing the right amount of kitsch with his catchy riffs fit for The Addams Family. With all of these elements together, White Reaper’s blueprint is in place: hooks so energetic and easy that you’ll question why you didn’t come up with them yourself.

The hooks keep coming with “I Don’t Think She Cares.” The song is bouncy enough to make heads bang from the onset, thanks to drummer Nick Wilkerson. Hater’s signature is all over this song, and as this is before White Reaper’s second guitarist Hunter Thompson joined, the keyboards have room to explore.

That’s not to imply that there’s a lack of shredding. “B.T.K.” rips into a solo that would make even the staunchest “rock is dead” zealot think twice. With a descending keyboard riff that perfectly accompanies the impassioned vocals by singer Tony Esposito and a driving drum intro, it ends the album in the same place it started, but it’s a ride worth taking. 

That’s why Does It Again is such a satisfying album: there’s hardly a moment that moves away from pure vitality. Even a slower song like “On Your Mind” is cautious not to drop the tempo too low, and the hook still digs deep into a listener’s brain. Esposito only repeats a few of words in most choruses, often through distorted vocals, giving the album a fuzzy garage vibe.

White Reaper’s roots are more directly traced to Cheap Trick and Big Star than The Ramones or The Stooges. “Pills” is an airtight pop song with a garage rock sheen: “Can you be the / Help I need, please / Won’t you be my pill?” It screams ’70s power pop. Every chorus is sure to be sung back at Esposito at live shows, like on “Sheila” where Esposito sings “Sheila / Sheila / Sheila / Sheila” until everyone named Sheila has heard his cries.

Thankfully the album ends before its liveliness fades. Clocking in at 34 minutes, White Reaper Does It Again grabs you by the shoulders and doesn’t let go until you’re singing along and playing air-guitar late into the night. It harkens back while setting up White Reaper for a bright future, as evidenced by their excellent second album, The World’s Best American Band. Whether they’re actually the best is irrelevant; their attitude speaks volumes and they have the tunes to match. Now we just have to wait until White Reaper does it again.

White Reaper Does It Again is available at an independent record store near you.
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