The Raging Nathans

Losing It (2014)

Ricky Frankel

The Raging Nathans, a three-piece band out of Dayton, Ohio released their full length, Losing It in April 2014. It is a 13-track LP filled to the brim with super aggressive pop punk. There are definitely some gems on this album, but at the same time there are some filler songs.

One of the better songs on Losing It is “Tooth Song.” This track is a really good and straightforward pop-punk jam that sums up the sound of the band. The song is fast and has a solid and consistent melody through out it. There is also a short guitar solo that stands out just enough from the rest of the song, but not so much so that it’s the only memorable aspect of it. What definitely make this song interesting as well is the lyrics. The Raging Nathans start the song off with the fairly disturbing lines “I’m losing teeth/ And in my sleep I spit mouthfuls of blood.”

Another jam on this album is the track “How To Validate Anything.” This song starts out with a bunch of bass fills that are played in between highly distorted power chords that Josh, the band’s guitarist, lets ring out. Of the 13 songs on this album, this is the one that enticed me and had me most interested. “How To Validate Anything” has the best melody and is musically superior compared to the others. The bass line, which is also the main riff of this song, adds a ton of character to it compared to the other simpler sounding songs on this album. After the first chorus there’s a great guitar interlude/solo that also makes this song more unique. More of the songs on this album should have had the musical complexity and energy that “How To Validate Anything” has. Losing It would have been a significantly better album.

This album isn’t terrible, nor is it amazing. The main issue with Losing It is that a lot of the songs don’t musically differentiate themselves from one another well; that being said, songs like “Tooth Song,” “How To Validate Anything,” “I’m on Drugs” and a couple of others do redeem this record. But again, there is a noticeable amount of filler. If you’re in the market for some new, underground pop punk then give this album a listen, but keep in mind that you will most likely be picking and choosing tracks rather than listening to the album all the way through.

You can check out this album here.