White Reaper get their swagger on and it's glorious.

White Reaper, photo by Jesse De Florio

White Reaper is one of those bands that makes visible progress with each album, slowing down and getting more mature without losing any of the spark that makes them special. Their initial EP sounded like an amphetamine-fueled punk take on Mod, while their debut LP tapped the breaks a little to allow the hooks to stick around a little longer. I loved both of those releases.

On The World’s Best American Band, out April 7, White Reaper tried their best to create an album that lives up to its title. And damn if they don’t deliver with this heavy guitar nod to stompin' and swaggerin' 70s rawk.

The Louisville, Kentucky quartet of Tony Esposito (guitar/vox), Ryan Hater (keyboards), Nick Wilkerson (drums) and Sam Wilkerson (bass) show more ambition on the new album, aiming for stadium rafters where they might’ve been content to hit the back of a garage before. But this isn’t a slickening of the band’s sound. Things are still rowdy and raw, it’s just that the songs have more ambition to make their mark on the annals of classic rock than they might have in the past.

White Reaper may be growing up but man do they still know how to throw an awesome party.

Spin the first single below, pre-order the album here and catch the band on tour right now. They hit Chicago to play Beat Kitchen on May 5.