The night Raccoon Fighter played at Glasslands, the weather was so harsh I thought my eyeballs were freezing in my face. Usually when it is this cold and an audience is this bleak, the bad ju ju inevitably affects a band’s performance, but Raccoon Fighter didn’t let it bring them down. They were impressively enthusiastic living up to all the hype.

After taking a listen to their most recent album ZIL, my expectation were at an all-time high, especially after reading so many reviews exclaiming Raccoon Fighter’s amazingness. I found myself thinking, “okay, I get it, yeah, quit pushing me.” But they did it, they impressed me. And after seeing them live, it brought new life to experiencing them in my ear buds, solidifying their place on my playlist for some time to come. Grunge blues rock with touches of rockabilly and surfer vibes that dance playfully with lyrics of heartbreak and misfortune.

More on the band: raccoonfighter.com

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words & photo/video: Jessica Straw