Dan Luke and The Raid - “Fool”

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 3

Pairs Well With…Spoon, Spendtime Palace, The Frights

Dan Luke and the Raid’s debut record Out of the Blue recalls steady 60s pop/rock, but then filters those influences through a grated, garage pop plane. Loaded with power pop and hooks, but pulled back to looser rock and roll energy, Dan Luke’s music moves from gentle breeziness to a tight, raucous sound. Also balancing rawness and charm on Out of the Blue, the Bowling Green, Kentucky based quartet consistently weave ragers and mid-tempo grooves through targeted psych-rock explosions. Jangly guitars and some R&B/funk rhythms also inform a track like “Golden Age” and dreamily twist slower burner “Rita Repulsa”, but it’s in Dan Luke and the Raid’s warm indie rock should like on “Fool” and “Exoskeleton where they sound their most determined and focused. SXSW lands right in the middle of the band’s nationwide headlining tour, so expect Dan Luke and the Raid to sound hot from the jump even within their cooled out, garage rock vibe. (Kevin McStravick)