Ratchet - Compromise

Hear The Track Here

So, as I enter this review, I have a choice before me; do I throw on Guanoman's Tawdry Seduction Disasters CD or do I carry on with a rock jag and (as you may have guessed) the rock won out. Consequently my next review will concentrate on the bird**** man and there was NO WAY I could have resisted this track at this juncture in the month anyway. Fact is, out of all the tracks I have to review this month, this was the one waving at me, deliberately taunting me to play it before its allotted time, and the reason for that boils down to two words: Ty Kaufman.

Way back in the glory days of Soundclick (2004 for this moment) it was awash with great rock musicians and bands, and I emphasise the 'great'. One of those was the Ty Kaufman Group and (later on) EL84, all of them showing off the prodigious talent of this guitarist-de-force. A passionate, fluid, emotional player that won a great many plaudits here. So there you are with a new band and you need a name that describes what the band is and what better rock name than Ratchet eh? Moreover, it actually does describe - in a weird kind of way - what this (very) heavy rock band are going to do to you.

As a big fan of the newer brands of rock from Foo Fighters to Tool, Ratchet fits right in there very nicely and makes a very promising noise indeed. The only caveat here is that I think it is probably essential that you like your rock wearing steel capped boots (although there are some quieter moments dotted hither and yon). As far as following Ty's personal trajectory (as it were) I am extremely happy to see him settled in an outfit that has both vision and (presumably) staying power. Certainly stacking up the tracks on their page in a radio listen in a definite to-do for this reviewer but I was ever a rock animal through and through and I do love a bit of fresh, red meat. Excellent hard rock, and a welcome return to a Soundclick prodigal son (and guitar God).

Highly Recommended.