The Roamers – Self-Titled Album.
Out of the starting gate, this rollicking band will tug on memories of the Beat Farmers, the Del-Lords & Blue Rodeo for starters. The recording is pristine & the songs are varied enough to encapsulate their style without being redundant.
“I can be lonely all by myself,” is a grandiloquent line & sets the mood for the 10 distinctive songs decorated for their debut The Roamers – Self Titled Album (Drops Sept 20/Roughneck Goods/31:41).
The LP was produced by Brian Whelan, Luke Adams & Matt Rice in Los Angeles. Music like this was once called cowpunk & groups like Rubber Rodeo dabbled in this wonderfully. The twang wasn’t corny & the Steve Earle-Tom Cochrane edge hovers just out of range. Their vocals are authoritative & in some cases, the tunes are good enough that an outlaw singer like Waylon Jennings would’ve covered them (“Favorite Things”).
The guitars are a solid wall of gratifying excess – yes, excess. But sometimes when something tastes good you want to pig out. This music is pig-out music. Pass a napkin. It possesses many phantom strains of retro music that have been polished up so brightly it’s new. Do they follow a formula? Sure, they do. That’s the reason the flavor lingers. Even the slight 60s vocal echo on “Lights Down Low” is impulsively good. Sounds like it was recorded in an empty bathroom shower. But it works…it works well.
Matt Rice’s vocals are perfectly suited for these pieces. He can hit the mark as a mainstream commercial singer but manages the more purposeful material. “Room To Roam,” reeks of Robert Gordon without the baritone inflections & the song retains the melodic rockabilly bump of Rocky Burnette (“Tired of Toein’ the Line”) with quirky Webb Wilder torque.
The showcase has its country flexibility (“One Side of the Bed”) but it never goes cornpone hokey. It certainly breaks up the more expressive tunes that dominate the set. When the band slips back into their country drive it’s a clear superficial mix of outlaw Waylon with guitarist Duane Eddy on “Keep On Rollin’,” — a nifty upbeat danceable fitting. Whereas the concluding piece “Where the Road Is Always Open,” slides into home base as the Los Lobos would & I might add – they score.
2 song samples are below on the Bandcamp links.
Highlights – “I Can Be Lonely,” “Favorite Things,” “Lights Down Low,” “Room To Roam,” “They Come Around,” “Keep On Rollin’” & “Where the Road Is Always Open.”
Musicians – Brian Whelan (guitars/piano/organ/keys/bgv), Luke Adams (drums/percussion/bgv), Matt Pynn (steel guitars) & Matt Rice (lead vocals/bass/upright bass/bgv).
Photo courtesy of their website. All songs written by Matt Rice. CD @ https://theroamers.bandcamp.com/track/i-can-be-lonely + https://theroamers.bandcamp.com/track/room-to-roam + https://www.theroamers.net/new-page
Song Premiere – https://americanahighways.org/2024/07/15/song-premiere-the-roamers-i-can-be-lonely/
