"Steady Boy" by The Racer has a cinematic pull and an experimental pop aesthetic. Nice.

From the onset, Steady Boy by The Racer is trippy and cool. A dirty bass pounds while triggered sounds feel like heavily distorted lightning strikes, dense keys hang in the air and, finally, Pete Marotta's forlorn tender vox call out to you. The voice screams puppy dog eyes and you start to melt a little bit because of the sheer cinematic quality. The band definitely let the music, their soundscape aesthetic built on emotional rhythms do their talking over lyrics... they keep the words down to a minimum really which is sort of brilliant. Less words sometimes pushes more buttons as the vagueness, the mystery lets us all place our emotions and past pain on it all like a coat of paint.

The boys self produce and you can hear that in their aesthetic which feels, at least, super collaborative. I get the sense that the creations are holistic in that sense. The Racer hail from Monroe, New York and are (the aforementioned) Pete Marotta (vocals, keys), Mike Esserman (guitar, keys), Steve Kondracki (guitar, keys), Eric Sosler (bass, keys), and Mike Perri (drums, percussion). They have had many successes and their cinematic sound with commercial hooks but experimental flavors seeps into your brain before you know it and you are sort of daydreaming away. 

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Robb Donker








THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM- PRESS NOTES:

The Racer, an independent band from Monroe, NY consisting of Pete Marotta (vocals, keys), Mike Esserman (guitar, keys), Steve Kondracki (guitar, keys), Eric Sosler (bass, keys), and Mike Perri (drums, percussion), has been undergoing a transformation from rock to alternative to indie and experimental over their last 3 releases. The traditionally album-focused band has shifted gears of late, and expects to continuously release a slew of self-produced singles directly to fans for the foreseeable future.

Even though the The Racer has always preferred to keep as much of their operation “in-house” as possible, the mission of self-producing their own music didn’t begin in earnest until after the 2016 release of their Kickstarter-funded third LP GIANT, produced by Dan Hannon (Manchester Orchestra). Throughout the promotion of GIANT, the band began experimenting with using the studio as an instrument, exploring new sounds and techniques, and growing more musically mature. Guided and inspired by the expertise of their past producers Mike Kalajian and Dan Hannon, proficiency came surprisingly quick, and the results are a breath of fresh air to the members of the band - the realization of a DIY dream many years in the making.

The Racer's independent catalog also consists of 2010’s Strangers We’ll Become and 2013’s Passengers and they’ve graced the stage at Milwaukee's Summerfest, Austin's SXSW, and Albany’s MOVE Music Fest. They’ve played everywhere from Whisky a Go Go and The Key Club to The Mercury Lounge and The Knitting Factory, opening up for bands such as Matt and Kim, The Spill Canvas, Say Anything, and Collective Soul. And they’ve secured licensing deals that have garnered placements on MTV, CBS, and a host of television commercials.