Radkey – Delicious Rock Noise

Is Dee Radke Secretly Glenn Danzig?

Who would have thought that the most rare punk rock phoenix—the voice of Glenn Danzig—would be reborn in a modest home in St. Joseph, Missouri? At 23, Dee Radke is adorned with a crown of floppy dreads and gifted with a howling baritone that sounds issued from a graveyard mausoleum. Together with younger bothers Isaiah and Solomon, they perform as Radkey, a dynamic punk band who honor the anti-establishment spirit of their forebears while embracing the influences of a somewhat cloistered upbringing. Homeschooling denied them the palate of dramatic source material that comes with the traditional high school experience, but years of immersion in their father—and manager—Matt Radke’s record collection helped them construct a believable vision of angst and lovesickness.

Delicious Rock Noise is essentially their 2015 release Dark Black Makeup retrofitted with two bonus tracks and released through their new label Another Century Records. It’s lean, sing-along punk which observes the sacred tenet of placing emphasis on raw feeling over lyricism and musicianship—though that’s not to say they can’t play. All three members showcase impressive dexterity, wheeling from punishingly fast riffs to slow, calculated marches within the boundaries of a single song. “Romance Dawn” perhaps best demonstrates this kind of gear shift, breaking into a sprint just as they seem to have settled into a stride. Yet, what’s most impressive about the young trio is their ability to wade into emotionally complicated territory without dampening the caustic energy that guides their play. On “Parade It”, Dee’s roaring bellow guides otherwise limp songwriting to a place of wringing emotion, “Your love has really got me down / It’s really got me down (x2) / Stand up, stop parading it around / Parading it around / And I really can’t take it.” He throws his voice like a yo-yo up and down his vocal register, suggesting heartfelt depths that other punk acts miss entirely.

Packed onto the end of the track list are two superhero themed songs, “Marvel” and “Teen Titans Theme.” By embracing their full spectrum of influences, Radkey throws even more hooks into the band that they most approximate—The Misfits. The template for their success was also prefigured by zany and unorthodox specters, like astro zombies and werewolves, and as a result of their magnetic individuality they developed a cult following that has barely wilted over multiple decades. It may be that the current musical climate isn’t situated for the astronomic rise of a madcap punk band, but Radkey’s youth and talent ensure that they won’t be falling off the radar anytime soon.