This review covers the punk rock track Sugar Ray – RPM.
This track was released in 1997 on the album Floored.
The track starts off with a brief vocal before going into a drum kit solo. After a whisper, an engine sound revving comes in. Then, there is a guitar emulating the sound. This ping-pongs back and forth for a bit. After that, the lead guitars come in.
From there, the vocals take the track into the first verse. Part way through, the lead guitars come back into the track. After that, the vocals take the track into the first round in the main chorus. A wah guitar compliments the vocals in this section.
The engine revving sound comes in. After that, there is some scratching of the revving sound. The vocals then return for another verse. The lead guitars come in. After that, the vocals then take the track into a longer version of the main chorus. Some backup vocals also join the track. This is capped of with some voice samples and a wah guitar solo.
From there, the vocals then return and lead the track into another round of the main chorus. This is capped off with both guitar and engine sounds flicking back and forth. From there, the ping-pong effect returns between the engine sounds and guitars. Towards the end, a gate effect is applied to both to add some variety.
The main vocals return for a modified version of the main chorus. After that, the track quickly breaks down and the engine sound leads the track out as it decelerates.
A big strength of this track is the hook. As the title suggests, there is references to engines thanks to the engine sounds. The fact that the guitars compliment these sounds actually makes this track seem quite playful.
Another strength in this track is the wah guitar. The way it compliments the track really give this track a nice rhythm. The vocals and backup vocals sound quite good as well in their own right.
Finally, the effects you would normally associate with various electronica genre’s also adds to the overall sound. It enhances the overall “fun” sound this track has.
Overall, this is definitely an enjoyable track. It has a good hook with the engine sounds. The complimenting guitars both with the engines and vocals work very well. The vocals are also good and the effects applied on top of everything only enahnces the sound further. So, an overall great track worth listening to.
Score
8/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
