This Saturday, October 4th, Louisville rock group White Reaper will be performing at Gabe’s in Iowa City presented by the Englert Theater’s Track Zero series, which highlights rising artists in the alternative music scene. They are supported by alternative rock groups Lip Critic and World’s Worst. Lip Critic sounds like if computer virus popups made music, you may have seen random “buy weed now!” stickers around town with a QR code directing to their crazy website. World’s Worst is more laid back, moody and heavy riffs on top of distorted guitars building noisy atmospheres into a cathartic kind of heavy rock that will feel right at home in Gabe’s.
This show will be one of White Reaper’s first since the release of their 5th studio album, Only Slightly Empty. The current members of the band are Tony Esposito as lead singer and guitar, Ryan Hater on keyboard, and Hunter Thompson on guitar. This album marks the first release since the departure of drummer Sam Wilkerson and his twin brother and bass player, Nick Wilkerson. Even with these founding members leaving, they were able to create an amazing alt-rock album that can energize you throughout its 29-minute runtime.
When I first heard about Only Slightly Empty, I was very hesitant and had low expectations since they were missing their rhythm section, but after hearing the first song on the album, all my worries were pushed to the side. The first song on the album, Coma, is a song that throws you in the deep end, with a very soft intro that immediately turns into a wall of heavy guitars and lyrics about distaste for the world and how no matter how hard they try to make it better, the bad seems to beat it out. The next song, Blink continues with the theme of the world rejecting them with the lyrics, “They all hoped I would die in here / So I pulled my punches and took my meals / For a waiting man that’s a life left cold.”
In the songs Honestly and Freakshow the lyrics move from how he is victimized by the world to how he won’t sit back and take it anymore. The way he strikes back at those who have wronged them is addressed in Eraser, talking about how they will get rid of those around them who only bring them down. These themes are representative throughout the album as a whole and signify a metaphorical end to the first half of the album, from theme to overall sound.
The next two songs in the album explore confusion within a romantic relationship. Blue 42 dives into the problems that the singer is admitting to in the relationship, from neglecting their partner or making them feel lesser. It continues with the sound of strong guitars from the previous songs, but that quickly changes with Pocket. The guitars change from aggressive to almost having a calming effect as the songs become more personal. Pocket deals with the singer coming to terms with the end of a relationship and wanting to end things. Rubber Cement and Touch let us see deeper into his mind and how he feels and yearns for another person, wanting to go back to them and equating them as home.
This album holds a lot of great music and is just one of many amazing albums from White Reaper. This album marks a turning point in their careers as an almost brand-new band. To see them as they are now, come visit their show this weekend at Gabe’s. Detailed show and ticket information can be found here.