The latest single by Nashville-based rock band Roxercat is entitled “2020”. In addition to being a single and having its own music video, the song also appears as the closing track on Roxercat‘s EP “Pearls”. The track describes the band’s hopes and expectations and how they weren’t met during the pandemonious year.
For the first minute of the track, we hear psychedelic synth sounds and an element of art rock/psychedelic rock, which is a fresh twist and a deviation from what mainstream bands are doing these days. The way the roaring guitars join these synths and merge the intro with the rest of the track in one smooth and seamless blend was a really beautiful moment for me.
The track then moves into a riff-based section in which these roaring guitars glide along a groovy bassline accompanied by heavy and raw-sounding drums to emulate the feeling of great classic rock which hits you right in that soft spot.
After that, the vocals join and then they are followed by a section full of guitar soloing that feels like it was improvised on the spot. It’s really just powerful rock n roll goodness that grabs the listener by the hand, takes them way back to the 70s, and encourages them to bang their heads along to the graceful and melodic composition that this track is. The soloing section is extensively long but also shreddy in its nature; which made me feel like it combines David Gilmour with Steve Vai to bring that feeling of satisfaction with every note and its emotional output.
There are some odd time signature drum stunts here too, which all prog fans will truly admire. Bringing in art, prog, psychedelic, and classic all into this blend is definitely the product of years of musical mastery and experimentation and the result is a composition that sounds way bigger and greater than the sum of its parts.
