The vibrant indie rock dreaminess and 80 grit beauty of "Sidewinder" by Austin Texas outfit Russel Taine Jr., a follow up to their 2022 album "Tales" and a preview of their upcoming EP "Ghosts", is wonderfully inviting. pervasive in it's magnetism and is one of those creations that feels like a forever song. I mean that by saying it could have existed in any decade since the early 70's. It has classic bones, flesh, blood and muscle. This is, in fact, a song that if released in the mid 70's would have been a radio hit, radio, um R A D I O, you know (ask your dad about it). Besides that, like I said, this kills in any era or time, it is one of those kinds of songs that you hear a few times and then it becomes embedded in your head.
Perfectly engineered, rousingly produced, it feels exuberantly alive as if recorded LIVE (maybe it was). You know back in the day like when musicians faced each other in the studio in booth like structures and jammed live, felt the sonic waves and energy from each player bounce off of them. I am loving this energy, really loving the hell out of vocalist / songwriter / guitarist Aaron Winston's vocal countenance which possesses a cool persona in such a way that you can feel his fragility but raucous power too. Totally appreciating the sharp downbeats, the solid purposeful anchors of Wes Armstrong's drumming and Justin Winslow's bass work and Dylan Hill's lead guitar work that is as spicy as it is melodic. Just a great track.
In the end, Russel Taine Jr. possesses elements of indie rock, Southern rock (or garden rock), power pop, jammy folk rock etc, AND I feel like their is a kind of void in this kind of rock sound since Tom Petty left us. I mean there are artists like Dr. Dog and The Black Tones and maybe Kevin Morby (although he has been increasingly becoming like a swamp blues indie kind of artist) but this sound by Russel Taine Jr. is feeling awfully fresh and nostalgic at the very same time.
LINER NOTES (bracketed):
["This is a song for people who replay conversations in their heads on the drive home. It's also part of our upcoming EP, Ghosts".]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://russeltainejr.bandcamp.com/album/american-dream-ep
https://www.instagram.com/russeltainejr/
https://www.facebook.com/russeltainejr/
Kevin Butler (Black Books, Reddening West) engineered and produced all five songs on Ghosts.
The award-winning artist Billie Buck (Austin Chronicle) designed the album artwork based on the concept behind the songs: an inability to escape the past or make sense of the present.
Aaron Winston (vocals, guitar) trades call-and-response with Dylan Hill’s (Mamalarkey) hazy leads, anchored by Justin Winslow’s melodic bass and Wes Armstrong’s (Half Dream) brush-kit groove.
After playing together since 2021, the quartet has developed a unique sound that’s grounded in imagistic lyrics and gritty guitars.
Russel Taine Jr., Austin Texas, indie rock, alt rock, power pop, jammy punchy sound, evocative vocals, dreamy tones, storytelling, folk rock, 70's rock leans, songwriter Aaron Winston, "Sidewinder" (Official Video),
No comments:
Post a Comment