Reetoxa are best known for cranking up the amps and letting raw, raucous energy flood the speakers, but with “Call”, the band strips back the noise and closes their debut LP on an entirely different note. A ballad of haunting beauty, “Call” may be softer than the storm that comes before it, but it lingers in the air like smoke long after the final note fades. In today’s streaming landscape, where the gentler album closers are often overlooked in favour of instant-hit singles, this track risks being ignored. Yet, it’s precisely the kind of song that deserves its own spotlight—a quiet giant that proves restraint can be as powerful as fury.
The inspiration behind “Call” makes it even more poignant. Jason McKee, the heart and soul of Reetoxa, found himself unexpectedly caught between memory and longing after bumping into an ex-partner during a rare escape from Melbourne’s cold winter to the warmer Gold Coast. What began as a joyful, almost serendipitous reunion quickly turned bittersweet when the weekend ended without so much as a phone call. Standing at Brisbane airport, the ache of that silence crystallised into song. You can feel the immediacy of that moment in every line—“Call” is a ballad and a diary entry, a late-night whisper, a plea for connection that will never arrive.
Musically, the track is a masterclass in understatement. The guitars shimmer with a fragile delicacy, weaving between shadow and light without ever overwhelming the vocals. The drums are inspired, subtle yet emotionally charged, almost like a heartbeat that steadies you while threatening to give way. The bass hums low beneath it all, the quiet glue that ties every element together into something that feels whole even as the subject matter aches with absence. Where Reetoxa’s louder tracks roar with distortion, “Call” leans into the atmosphere, creating a soundscape that is at once intimate and cinematic. It’s the kind of track best experienced late at night, headphones on, when the world feels hushed enough to let its sadness unfold.
What makes “Call” stand apart is Jason’s vocal delivery. There’s no grandstanding here—his voice is naked, haunted, and deeply vulnerable. It carries the fragility of heartbreak and the weight of acceptance, walking a delicate line between pleading and letting go. The honesty in his tone is what makes the song unforgettable; you can hear the moment of realisation that no call is coming, and yet the desire for it never fully dies. This balance between despair and dignity gives the track its emotional depth. In a world full of overproduced ballads, Jason’s restraint allows the imperfections, the cracks in the voice, to become the very thing that makes “Call” human.
As an album closer, “Call” functions like the quiet after a storm—the necessary exhale after Reetoxa’s whirlwind of noise. But as a single, it proves itself more than worthy of standing on its own. It’s a ballad that encapsulates the charm, sadness, and charisma of the band while offering a universally relatable and deeply personal story. Heartbreak, longing, the silence of an unanswered phone—these are emotions that cut across time and genre. With “Call”, Reetoxa show they are a rock act and storytellers unafraid to bare their souls. Ignore this track at your peril—it’s one of the most moving pieces of music the band has released to date.
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