Early in 2023, if you knew where to look, you could see the seeds of a return to sleazy, cut-the-cloth type of rock music hitting the airwaves again and getting the ground running. From Eurovision winners Maneskin becoming household names with their debut album to some of the most celebrated albums of the year containing a lot more edge than current saccharine “rock music”. Truly, slowly but surely, the guitar is making a comeback. Throwing their hat in the ring is one of the torchbearers of modern rock ‘n’ roll; Ratchet Dolls. And they are here not just to make the noize, but they’ve also come to Bring the Noize.
The Texas-based hard rock band is back after six years with their debut album, Damaged in 2018, bringing to the scene their flavour of high-octane, high-energy fist-pumping anthems on their newest and highly-anticipated sophomore album, “Bring The Noize”. Eight tracks going at a breakneck and moshpit-tempo frenzy as the band cycles through the forebearings of 70s and 80s rock, with touches of heavy metal, an unbelievably infectious burst of glam-rock and glam-metal that made bands like Queen such a breathtaking music act, not to mention dashes of riot-girl-punk and The Clash-era Oi choir-style classic punk rock flair; a severely underrated element of current rock music that the band does well to bring forth on their second effort. Earnest and train-chugging heavy riffs make this album a fun listen from the get-set as the intro track, Hit The Ground, does its best to live up to such a title as it hits the ground running from the get-go and the result is a track that without fail, gets your head bobbing- and fair warning, the rest of this album goes just as hard, if not more.
Hooks and hooks and hooks galore much like that episode of Spongebob Squarepants wherein fishermen wait above them, this eight-track album is quite literally the prime definition of a fun time. True rock music to me, isn’t the macho posturing or the overt machismo and all the implications resting there; it’s about the fun times and all the swagger of the musicians loving their craft and having the huge bonus of being amazing while they do it. These songs are performed with an in-your-face attitude and a matching wink and a smile, and the energy brought on as a result is apparent and infectious.
Tracks like the lead single Loud! Loud! Loud! and Rolling Thunder ups the ante ever-so-easily as they go and you can tell the band is smiling with you as they play, as if to say: “Hey, enjoy the show. We’re doing this for you” and as a result, I respect it and loudly sing along. Even on slower (with the asterisk of that adjective being essentially the band going on 90% power and speed as opposed to their usual 110% on this entire album) tracks like Blood for Blood and Parasite!, the band manages to outdo themselves with catchy riffs and choruses sung with glee and gusto; the result is a continuation of that aforementioned infectious head-bobbing I warned you about earlier in my review.
From the guitar solos that blast through amplifiers even if you’re air-guitaring as you rock along as you listen through this album to the choruses that stick like bubblegum on the bottom of the dingiest barstool of the local biker club bar wherein the mosh pits go so far as the full space to give space to properly freak around; this album is just a fun time. On one of their lead singles, they refer to themselves as The Enemy, but as Ratchet Dolls close out with Modern Mistake, in the span of eight tracks, you have just made a new best friend, and your new best friend rocks so hard he brings the noize. Bar none.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for publications in the US and former lead writer of Atop The Treehouse. Reviews music, film and TV shows for media aggregators.
