The Raging Nathans – Waste My Heart LP (Rad Girlfriend Records)

The Raging Nathans came a long way from a local punk rock band to a critically acclaimed worldwide known act, and there’s a good reason for that. Since their beginnings, the musicians involved in this outstanding band invested blood, sweat, and tears into every single recording they ever released. Their effort is hearable on each of these recordings, and believe me, there a plenty of them. The Raging Nathans undoubtfully have something to brag about. Since their formation, the group released four full-lengths, such as Losing It, Cheap Fame, Sleeper Hits: Sordid Youth Vol. 1, and Oppositional Defiance. Besides full-lengths, the band also released a couple of extended plays like The Raging Nathans EP, Long Way Home EP, and Live From Wonkfest EP. However, that’s not all, because The Raging Nathans also appeared on loads of split releases with groups such as The Slow Death, Wonk Unit, Nobodys, Pizzatramp, Rad Company, Jon Cougar Concentration Camp, Parasites, Dead Bars, The Reaganomics, and Starter Jackets. We’re dealing with a very prolific band that doesn’t have any intentions to stop, and their latest recording named Waste My Heart is living proof of my statement.

Waste My Heart is their fifth full-length material that carries twelve energetic punk rock songs. Judging by the appearance, someone who’s not familiar with this band would probably assume The Raging Nathans are into raw hardcore or crust punk, mainly because of the visual aesthetics of this album. The front cover artwork irresistibly resembles the eighties hardcore punk graphics, but the group explores melodic punk rock during the entire album. The group levitates somewhere between the mid-nineties melodic punk rock and contemporary pop-punk sound. However, you may stumble upon some skate punk/modern hardcore maneuvers mainly showcased through series of polyphonic segments, themes, and harmonies. The Raging Nathans also inherited the dynamics from the beforementioned genres, so Waste My Heart will unquestionably keep you entertained for a while. At some points, you’ll notice how The Raging Nathans are transitioning from regular skate punk acrobatics to something more similar to Ramonescore sound, and the group does these transitions pretty well. This band undoubtfully stacked various streams of punk rock music, but Waste My Heart appears as a thoughtfully assembled collection of ear-appealing compositions.

The Raging Nathans thoroughly planned this album, and the most important part about this material is that the band doesn’t follow the already paved melodic punk rock path. These guys are avoiding all the predictable maneuvers repetitiously performed by the majority of contemporary punk rock bands. Perhaps Waste My Heart resembles something that would renowned punk rock groups eventually record during their careers, but you can’t pinpoint The Raging Nathans to any of them. It’s a difficult task, especially in modern times when the groups are popping out from nowhere, and most of them sound incredibly good. Waste My Heart demonstrates how The Raging Nathans differ comparing to the remaining portion of the scene. There’s something about their tunes that keeps them fresh, unique, and enjoyable to listen to, even after countless spinnings. Waste My Heart comes out on vinyl on June 4th, so keep your eyes peeled on Rad Girlfriend Records for more detailed information about pre-ordering this gem.