CRAVE MAGAZINE REVIEW OF CATCH YOUR DEATHRadiocraft - Catch Your Death
2007
Singer Suzie Ferro of the all-male band Radiocraft is a new, welcoming breed of femme rocker that will hopefully charge into arenas everywhere, mic in hand, lassoing it around her head. Ferro, a tiny brunette from Detroit, delivers glass-exploding notes in bittersweet ballads, revealing how a "whisper and a lie" gets her in trouble with shady lovers. With the help of Grammy-nominated producer Rick Parashar, the mastermind behind the many hits of grunge gods Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, Radiocraft brings back 70s style rock with heart in their third album Catch Your Death. After spending 2006 recording in Seattle's London Bridge Studios, Ferro proves that she holds more than a pretty note and can play hardball with the other lads.
Since 2002, Radiocraft has been writing and releasing songs in their native Detroit, unable to catch the attention of record labels. After hearing their first track, "Hurricanes" from Catch Your Death, you'll wonder how the hell they've manage to release a third demo without being signed. Kevin Breslin and Ronnie Alcini, the duo behind guitar and drums, grabs listeners with fast-hitting, rough and ready hooks that build up like a giant tidal wave, leading to a startling, oh so good rush only felt when attending your first concert. Ferro's voice is nothing short of amazing, soft as lace, but loud and truck-stopping with the same slight rasp that made gay icon Melissa Etheridge a Grammy Award-winning artist. It only gets better in "Red," a remix from their 2005 album of the same name where Ferro challenges Mother Nature to "bring on the rain, bring on the flood," just to be with her man. Her heart-rending voice, urgent and tear-triggering, doesn't overpower the aggressive cymbals, energetic guitar and surprisingly mellow drumming that only adds more anticipation to how great this track continues to be.
Extraordinary albums rarely have songs worth skipping and in Catch Your Death the track "The Stars Song" is definitely a little bit country and not enough rock 'n' roll. A dragging, monotonous southern tune belongs in half empty Tennessee bars where everyone's too drunk to listen. Then again, an album with only one bad tune is a rare achievement for an unsigned band from a city made famous by a white rapper named after a beloved candy.
-Stephanie Nolasco