Radical Radical Debuts with Emo Punk Album I Feel Like I Want To
4.4 out of 5 stars
As many fans of Southern California punk rock in the 90’s, I grew up a huge fan of the ska-punk band Home Grown, and Adam Lohrbach who played bass and sang for that band has now put together a new project with a full band called Radical Radical, and they just launched their 11-song debut album called I Feel Like I Want To.
Now, the pop-punk aspects are still a definite signature underlying this whole album, but the music, lyrics and vocals are not as “poppy” as Home Grown brought, and that’s highly likely due to the life experiences, age and overall themes of depression and anxiety and getting back on the horse after a career in music that has probably taken its toll.
Lohrbach started to put the project together back in 2018, but he didn’t pull the band together (Tayler Schwabb - guitar, Anthony Barro - guitar, Russell Dixon - drums) until later, and the album is a showcase of the solitude of Lohrbach and his innermost thoughts and personal hardships.
The lyrics at times cut right through all the poetry of songwriting and get to the heart of the issue. One such instance is in the song “I’m Not OK, and That’s OK” where Lohrbach writes:
There are some really solid tracks on this album, and I don’t usually get into the more “emo” side of punk...people say I have no emotions...but when it comes to a band or artist that I have had a longtime connection with through their music, the words and music hit harder and mean more.
Songs like “Hello My Name Is Adam” and “Lifeline” really stand out for me as highlights of the album.
“Middle Age Masterpiece” was the first song I think I heard off this album, but I didn’t even realize it was Radical Radical or that Lohrbach had a new band. It was one of those songs that came up from an algorithm after playing other songs from another band (likely Home Grown), and I didn’t recognize the name at first. Then I saw the acoustic videos that Lohrbach released covering some old Home Grown songs a few weeks later (see here).
It’s great to see that music still has a place for Lohrbach and the rest of the guys, and that they still have their place in music after so many years of putting up with the highs and lows of the business side of being a musician.
If you like acts like Yellowcard or Home Grown or even a band like early Jimmy Eat World, you will probably like this album and this band. I recommend you check it out just to feed the curiosity if nothing else.