Jesse Roper and the inspired blues roots rock shine of "Does Anybody Know"

 

"does anybody know or have the time..."

It is almost impossible to not dance or shimmy shake when you hear Canadian rocker Jesse Roper's Motown infused single "Does Anybody Know". It even inspired me to do an early morning thumb dance on the American Pancake Instagram (warning it is really stupid) but I digress. Roper's style throughout this track working with Juno nominated producer Gus Van Go (The Stills, Whitehorse, Arkells, The Trews, Sam Roberts) hearkens back to another time when musicians sat in a room and played music together, when songs stirred to the groove built by a drummer not a programmed beat. Not only is "Does Anybody Know" sonically nostalgic and amazingly warm but Roper's vocal aesthetic is tarnished with an alluring smokiness and back of the throat grittiness. His loving vocal gymnastics are graced with character, an amalgam of 50's doo wop, Southern porch blues, and Gospel. His performance and the overall Harmony H78-esque hollow body shine (or thereabouts) is absolutely stunning here. 

Roper shared the songs origin story on New Noise Magazine:

“It was kind of funny how the song came about. I’d been listening to a lot of Leon Bridges at the time and it was just a matter of time before I wrote something in that fashion. The song is about a guy who’s been dumped and is confused and looking for his ex all around town. I was in a relationship when I wrote it, so it had no particular meaning to me.

But months later, after I got home from a long tour, my girlfriend met me at her door and informed me that she no longer wanted to be in a relationship with me. I was shocked and hurt and suffering from all those feelings. The song now felt like foreshadowing to my own future, and I was almost embarrassed to sing it. But Gus loved it and went straight to it. The song came together quickly, and it was my introduction to his way of doing things, which I immediately loved. The tones were rich and the song ended up being really groovy. It was also the first song that Josh Dion played drums on. That guy is next level pro and my mind kind of blew watching him lay it down in one take.

It’s one of my favourites off the upcoming album. I’ve since played it to the girl who broke up with me. She loves it too. And now we’re actually back together. Maybe because she liked the song. I don’t know.”

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Working closely with famed Juno nominated producer Gus van Go (The Stills, Whitehorse, Sam Roberts) on this new collection of songs has pushed Roper into creating some of his best work, “Recording with Gus and Werner F was on a whole new level. They really cared where the songs were headed and that they ended up just right”, Roper confides. “Everything was broken down to the finest details and nothing was allowed to sit at just “ok”. It was all about getting the vibe right.”

And the vibe is certainly right. There’s a depth, a vulnerability, to this new body of work that hasn’t necessarily been at the forefront of Roper’s previous offerings. With a richer infusion of vintage rhythm and blues as background, Roper’s unique, soulful vocals are given space to soar. The result brings to mind sun-baked, dusty roads and hot, sticky nights on crowded dance floors. Like contemporaries Nathaniel Rateliff and Jack White, Roper tells his story with heart.

Jesse Roper, Americana, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, blues rock, "Does Anybody Know", Motown vibe, nostalgia, fierce back beat, blues, gospel, upcoming album, Juno nominated producer Gus Van Go