That Darn Racket’s debut album, Overwhelmingly Positive, is anything but surface-level optimism. Released July 20, 2025, and led by veteran internet personality Peter Coffin, the Rochester-based band delivers 14 tracks of raw, 90s-rooted rock that wears its grit like a badge of honor. Produced by Patrick Coffin (of Appalachian Anarchy), the record captures the sound of lived-in truth: jagged guitars, unapologetic vocals, and lyrics that dig straight into the bruised parts of the human experience.
From the unflinching satire of opener “Pretty Please” to the gut-punch honesty of “From A Mile Away” and the slow-burn ache of “Moth… Or?”, the album refuses to shy away from the messy realities of emotional abuse, addiction, and hollow apologies. Tracks like “About Face” call out performative change, while “Pony” turns up the heat with sly, slinking riffs and a vocal delivery that’s as dangerous as it is irresistible.
The title track, “Overwhelmingly Positive,” stands as the album’s ironic centerpiece, an explosive rock confession about plastering on a smile while resentment quietly festers. The sound is steeped in the DNA of Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and Green Day, but it also carries the unpolished urgency of garage punk and the unfiltered vulnerability of a handwritten letter you were never supposed to read.
This is a dirt-under-the-nails rock record: defiant against the creep of artificiality in art, deeply human in its delivery, and confident enough to be imperfect. Overwhelmingly Positive isn’t here to sell you an illusion. It’s here to tell you the truth loud, messy, and unforgettable!
