Radkey, Old Blue Last, review: Music guaranteed to whip angry teenagers into a moshing frenzy

But more homework is needed for them to graduate to the bigger leagues

Radkey's music features plenty of solos and some impressive shredding (Facebook/Radkey)

Being siblings, Radkey possess that uncanny ability to read one another without speaking. So they work well as a unit onstage: Dee (sounding uncannily like Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos) and Isaiah hurl themselves around the tiny space yet manage to avoid a collision, while Solomon hammers out a heavy pace on the drums.

On certain songs from their debut album Dark Black Makeup, it can seem too much as though the band have been practising really hard at their rock ABCs. The home-schooled brothers are perfectly capable, accomplished even, of tracks that unleash their furious energy onto the crowd, featuring plenty of solos and some impressive shredding.

“Start Freaking Out” and “Song of Solomon” are guaranteed to whip angry teenagers into a moshing frenzy, but more intriguing are songs like “Love Spills”, for which Ross Orton (Drenge) reportedly had them cut the pace in half, and the smart strut in “Hunger Pain”.

As of yet, there’s little to suggest they plan on branching out beyond a mimicry of classic rock acts, to the point where even some of their mannerisms during the performance feel contrived. There’s plenty of talent there, but more homework is needed before they graduate to the bigger leagues.