A big reason I haven’t been too fond of music in the last ten years is because of where the focus is placed.  In a lot of songs, especially in pop music, all the emphasis has gone to the vocals, not the instrumentation.  A lot of my favorite songs are the songs where almost everything involved has a hook – the guitar, the bass, the keyboards if they’re involved.  It’s a big reason I like listening to rock music rather than pop – rock has a greater focus on instrumentation than pop music does.  But even in rock music, the instrumentation has become less of a focus as riffs become repetitive and more based on loudness rather than memorability.

In 2020, we got a return to this type of song, where every instrument behind the vocal gets a chance to shine.  And it came from an unlikely source, a garage rock band finally releasing their major label debut last year, over 10 years after the garage rock revival died.  

FROM… Louisville!

(No but seriously, they are from Louisville.)

“Might Be Right” – White Reaper

Alternative
#1 peak (February 15, 2020)
#21 year-end

Three albums and eight years into their existence, White Reaper finally achieved their first hit this year with “Might Be Right,” which hit #1 on the Alternative chart in February.  More than any other rock or alternative song released this year, this song deserved that title, even if it was for only a week.  

The biggest reason why this song deserved the #1 spot is because of how memorable almost every single part of this track is.  “Might Be Right” has hooks for days.  Everyone: not just the singer, but everyone – gets their moment to shine on this song.  The song opens up with Ryan Hater’s organ riff, which is angelic and haunting at the same time.  Then we get Sam Wilkerson’s bass riff, which grooves you with its simple yet sophisticated rhythms.  That’s two great riffs in the song in the first 25 seconds, before we even hear the first lyric.  25 seconds in and we already want to get up and dance to this rhythm Sam and Nick Wilkerson (the drummer) are putting down.

The best hook in the song isn’t even in the chorus, where it usually is.  It’s frontman Tony Esposito’s pre-chorus.

And I always fall
A little short in front of you
Yeah I always fall
A little short in front of you

My God.  There are professional songwriters who are sitting in jealousy that they didn’t get to that hook first.  Along with it being catchy, it’s downright breathtaking.  Esposito reaches to the top of his vocal range on the “always fall” lyric, and it is embarrassing how much you will want to sing along with him.  Adding to that, his voice is perfect for this hook.  It’s got the right blend of rock star swagger and sneering.

Of course with this being a rock song, the guitars sound great on this song too.  Esposito and Hunter Thompson are the twin lead guitarists of the band, and they have a great interplay together.  The guitar throughout the verses and choruses are strong – especially notable is the telegraph-like riff in the pre-chorus I mentioned earlier.  Then we get another great hook after the first chorus and in the outro, when Esposito and Thompson have a dueling guitar riff where both play the same riff in different octaves.  This makes it sound skyscraping yet subdued, slashing yet soft.  Then we get to the bridge, and just when we think we’re going to get tired of Esposito singing “keep the lights down,” Thompson interrupts with a guitar solo.  It starts with some glorious ringing eighth notes, progresses to a plucky twin guitar riff with Esposito, and then climaxes with some progressively intense half notes.  Being a rock song with clear influence from the 70s with its classic rock vibe, it’s the climax we all wanted in this song.  

And if you think I’m leaving someone out, drummer Nick Wilkerson does a good job too – his drumming is strong throughout the track, especially with the drum hits that signal the beginning of the chorus and guitar solo.

I loved this song so much that I ended up checking out their entire album You Deserve Love, from which “Might Be Right” comes from.  And it’s pretty good too: the album features the glorious guitar/keyboard reaches of “Headwind,” the soulful chords of “Eggplant” (I know, it’s a stupid title, but the song works), and “Raw,” which barely stays on the tracks with its raucous punk energy.  But “Might Be Right” is easily the highlight of the album, with more hooks in its four minutes than many albums pack.  The music was so perfectly executed in this song that the only way to top it… was to transcend the bounds of music and become something else entirely. 

IMAGE SOURCES

Single cover from WikiMedia

Photo of band from Guitar.com