Well hello there waveriders!
Pull up a chair, sit on the ground, stand still for a second, whatever
makes you comfortable because I've got a real standout release to discuss with
you today. My friends, when I heard the Destroyers EP from Ramonda Hammer it straight up knocked me for a loop! It is my opinion that these tunes might
produce the same effect when passing through your eardrums. Allow me to explain.
While I am a child of the 1980s I began paying closer
attention to music during the 1990s when grunge reigned supreme. Listening to the radio back then heavily
influenced my musical taste. When I hear
new music that hearkens back to those days long gone I can't help but be
interested. When that new music happens
to be good...well, I'm a happy man.
Enter Ramonda Hammer.
According to their bio RH
is "a Los Angeles
grunge band". Yeah, that fits. Pretty straightforward description, but there
are two elements that help set RH
apart. First, they don't sound derivative. Listening to these five songs my mind never
wanders towards making direct comparisons between RH and the radio hits of my youth.
Second, and most importantly, band leader/lead singer Devin Davis has an
unbelievably powerful voice! Seriously,
when the songs demand it her voice goes to 11.
Also, the emotion she conveys is absolutely spellbinding!
All five songs that make up the Destroyers EP rock. Title
track "Destroyers" perfectly sets the mood. "Bender" is my favorite song on
offer thanks to it's galloping instrumentation and infectious melody. "Too Much Too Recently" perfectly
defines melancholy. "Care 2
Slam" caustically rips and tears through it's three minute runtime, and EP
closer "Same Thing" approaches critical mass each time the chorus hits.
Waveriders if you have an itch for 1990s rock music that
needs scratching, or if you want to hear an incredibly emotive lead vocalist
look no further than Ramonda Hammer
and their fantastic Destroyers EP.
-Penfold
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