I don’t need to tell you how rare it is to find an album that has been simmering for three decades. Can you imagine how thirty years of ups and downs, growth and setbacks, and authentic highs and lows can elevate and enrich a piece of music? Well, you don’t have to imagine anymore; Australian one-man rock band ReeToxA has recently released his debut album ‘Pines Salad.’
ReeToxA is the brainchild of frontman Jason McKee, whose style has been shaped by his love of legendary artists like Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam, and the Pixies. In part, that’s why I’m excited about this album—its rich colour is steeped in decades of iconic alt-rock influence.
But that’s not the only reason this album caught my eye. The fact that this album was built upon the talent of not only Jason McKee but also seasoned producer Simon Moro, versatile bassist Kit Riley, King Canyon’s well-respected guitarist James Ryan, and Jet’s attention-commanding drummer Peter Marin is more than enough reason to get hyped about ‘Pines Salad.’
Pines Salad
So the first track that I would love to talk about is ‘Amber,’ a song that McKee wrote in his teenage years. When you hear its intro, you’ll immediately recognise the surge of angst and fury of adolescence in the instrumental harmonies. The drums are crisp, made striking with a biting rhythm, and the guitars waste no time in baring their teeth. These harmonies set you up for a chaotic yet controlled thunderstorm, brimming with in-your-face unabashedness and omen-soaked moodiness.
And then, quite brilliantly, Jason McKee introduces his distinctly smooth, familiar vocals with an ear-perking first line: ‘I feel like a donkey in a thoroughbred show.’ I gel with this first lyric a lot; it’s a line that embodies that fish-out-of-water feeling that we all experience at some point in our lives. After all, how many times have you felt like an othered outsider surrounded by things and people that seem so perfectly polished? Well, for me, the rough grittiness of the instrumentation and the charmingly homespun timbre that grounds McKee’s voice blend in such a way that you feel like celebrating the things that make you an ‘outsider.’
Even more intriguingly, as the track continues, the narrative quickly refocuses on the subject of romantic uncertainty. That is, McKee commits his endearingly raw voice to a tale in which he doesn’t know where he stands with a woman in his life. All the while, the drum flaunts a tappy, torrential tempo, and the guitar’s grumbles imbue the melody with a frustration that marries together that romantic confusion and fish-out-of-water vibe seamlessly. All in all, this track reflects the disarray of emotions that you would feel in a situation like this, as if its composition was plucked straight from your own past experiences.
The next track in this album that caught my eye (or ear) is ‘Avocet Court,’ which is almost a complete 180 from what we heard in ‘Amber.’ The instrumental patchwork of this single has a homely, rustic beauty to it, made bright-eyed with playful, sprightly string work, subtle bass, and relaxed drumbeats. To top off this pleasant melody, you’ll notice that there is a spattering of resonant twangs that I can only describe as a summer evening type of sound, in that it blankets the track in a rosy, golden, and dreamy atmosphere.
This glowing instrumentation etches out a soothing path for McKee’s vocals, which—I have to admit—take to this sonic trail as effortlessly as a breeze combs through the trees. In ‘Avocet Court,’ you can really hear how McKee’s vocals carry a full-bodied, mature strength, which just makes his lyrics feel all the more lived in. What’s more, under a softer alt-rock lens, it becomes all the easier to listen to the way McKee’s voice can exude just as much seasoned tenderness as it does grit-dusted roughness.
The instrumentation maintains its delightful hue as the song progresses, gracefully elevated by McKee’s timbre and lyrics that really reinforce a deep yearning for freedom. True to the track’s nature, the diminuendo has a degree of tranquillity as it gradually skips, then saunters, into a restful but rippling final twang. All I can add is that if you ever feel like you need a ReeToxA tune to unwind to, this one is for you.
The last song that I would like to talk about today is actually the last track on the album: ‘Call.’ This album is teeming with thoughtfully curated, colourful singles, but none, for me, was as home-hitting as ‘Call.’
This track opens with a lonely, heavy ribbon of guitar work. No embellishments, no experimental flourish, just an isolated six-string story that simply oozes heartache. Everything about this intro wants you to focus on the unfiltered power of poignancy, from its weary tempo to its sorrowful melody.
In my opinion, songs like this are powerful but also fragile in the sense that adding the wrong element at the wrong time can hinder the emotional momentum that you’re instilling in your listeners. But that’s not the case here. Jason McKee demonstrates such control over his storytelling ability within the incredibly delicate way he introduces his voice. His delivery is appropriately minimalistic and stirringly vulnerable, and besides the guitar, the only thing that his voice builds upon is the muted, steady, heartbeat-esque bassline.
Additionally, when you listen to ‘Call,’ you’ll notice that a lot of the lyrics are repeated in each verse. Of course, if this song were constructed in any other way, this wouldn’t be as effective, but I think the repetition works here because the track is so minimalistic and so hyper-focused on the emotion it wants you to feel. You don’t need to be swept up in lyric-based cleverness and complexity; you just need to listen.
Overall, this album is a testament to McKee’s writing ability and versatility. It’s been a while since I have found an alt-rock album that can confidently explore such a wide range of emotions and musical textures. Across every song—not just the ones I’ve talked about today—you can tell how much thought, care, and devotion have gone into it. From this album, I’ve remembered a great lesson: it’s absolutely worth taking to refine my creativity.
Source: https://www.instagram.com/reetoxa/
ALT: Alt-rock singer-songwriter ReeToxA, AKA Jason McKee, stands smiling beside his fellow Australian musicians on Forum Melbourne’s stage.
ReeToxA
Let’s talk about the man behind the music: what led Jason McKee to his love of music and the subsequent release of his own?
In his youth, McKee found himself hooked on his dad’s record collection. He was so beguiled by the songs he heard that he had just to tape them for himself. Through his Walkman, he would find a door to another world of iconic music, losing himself in the artistry that would come to inspire his own musical journey. With artists like The Beatles, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Queens of the Stone Age in his ear, it’s hardly surprising that McKee, in the midst of his adolescence, would yearn to form his own band.
At 15, this yearning was stronger than ever, and he started writing his own music and jamming with his best friend, who could play the guitar. Unfortunately for McKee, musicians were in short supply in Frankston, where he grew up, and the band unravelled soon after its inception. This was the first of the many hurdles life would thrust McKee’s way.
Having spent nine years in the Navy and overcome challenges related to alcohol use, you’d think even a little of McKee’s love for music would’ve faded into the background and understandably so. But this wasn’t the case. He kept writing and writing until his debut release became more than a dream and transformed into a tangible future. That brings us to now. That brings us to ‘Pines Salad.’
What’s next for the budding musician, you may ask? Well, I’m sure it isn’t a shock to hear that this avid songwriter already has a second and even a third album penned. In the meantime, Jason McKee is determined to pick up where his 15-year-old self left off and form a band with which he can tour the album and play local gigs alongside. In other words, there’s nothing but success on the horizon for ReeToxA.
‘Pines Salad’ is available to listen to across all major streaming platforms!
Till next time.