Size 85 High Tops forgo indie tropes for deep folk rock narratives on "Rev It Up and Ride"

"Catastrophic delusions of calm"

The vast and ever so curious track Rev It Up and Ride by Portland's Size 85 High Tops (an ever so curious band name) has such classic art rock / folk bones and flesh too. As I tried to follow the breath and scope of the songs narrative, moved along with comfortable earnest vox and lovely harmonies, I smiled a curious grin as I thought of artists like Nick Drake, Graham Parsons, Neil Young and Pink Floyd. I know that is high praise and that no one can quite touch these luminaries but there is that same sense of story telling, of romance and psychedelia in Size 85 High Tops' refreshing ease in which they melodically and musically push envelopes. During the musical break with lush sax, dramatic downbeats, fluid beautiful bass lines, drums that fall down stairs and rush back up them, there is a voice talking underneath it all. It is so goddamn amazing. Kudos to these artists. In Rev It Up and Ride, Size 85 High Tops forgo current indie rock tropes instead telling a more literary form of music with folk / garden rock abandon and it simply kills you.

“‘Rev’ is a song inspired by the Ann Charters Kerouac biography, Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano, and Stephen Crane’s two little poetry volumes, War is Kind and The Black Rider. It’s about a Western world slipping into decay, drugs, literary road tripping…there’s not a lot of hope in it but the music tries to redeem a tiny bit of the character’s steadfastness and humor. Neil Young’s ‘L.A.’ from Time Fades Away inspired the first verses. The vocal sounds like ‘ride’ but it’s actually sung as ‘write.’ You know, revelatory, write on…” 

Rev It Up and Ride is from the band's recently released album "Rev It Up" and I look forward to delving into it soon. 

Size 85 High Tops are Jesse Keyes (acoustic guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Scott Van Schoick (drums & percussion, piano, vocals), John Wolcott (bass), Joel Bocek (electric guitar), Al Toribio (lead guitar)

Vocalist Myra Keyes occasionally chimes in and multi-instrumentalist Kyleen King is near to the fold as is Marc Hutchinson (sax).

-Robb Donker Curtius



THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

Size 85 High Tops are a shape-shifting psych-rock band from Portland, OR