Record Label: Pirates Press Records
Genre:
Band Link: link
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Right off the bat, I was hooked on the infectious punk n’ roll sound of the Ratchets. The punk isn’t what you would expect. They don’t have the fast TKO punk sound and they’re definitely not from the same pop punk mold found on Go Kart Records. You will find the band on Pirate Press Records. (Awesome website to boot!) The Ratchets infuse the sounds of the US Bombs, the Clash and Social Distortion into a guitar-driven, slightly reggae-laced rock and roll experience.

“Glory Bound” kicks off with “Book of Law” which sounds like something from a Bouncing Souls album. The album then continues to provide me with something that I thoroughly enjoy in a record…variety. You can’t really get a feel on what’s going to come next. That always makes for a good time and a great listen. “Rockers Taking Over” is a straight-up rock song with a touch of ska towards the end of the track. “Ration” continues the ska/reggae vibe with Common Rider-sounding song. Now all of you ska haters out there, don’t be afraid; the Ratchets are by no means a ska band so just skip that track if you want. They do have more ska-tinged tracks than you would usually find on any punk or rock album nowadays. Variety, man. It’s a good thing.

The rest of “Glory Bound” continues to impress with many kickass guitar solos, ska upstrokes, wobbly rockabilly bass lines, gritty vocals and songs about the common man. I was disappointed with the fact that “Glory Bound” was only ten short songs. That’s not much more than an EP you know. Most of the songs run more than three minutes long, but it’s still too short of a listen. Usually when you find that a record is too short, that just means that you want more, more, more. For anyone out there who wants to break away from listening to the same old overplayed punk song, “Glory Bound” is the album for you. It’s one of the best listens of the year.

Bottom Line: A great punk and reggae influenced rock and roll record
Notable Tracks: Book or Law, Rockers Taking Over, Ration, Skyjack Sunday Starts, Proclamation Time
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