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There’s a real art to a single drop, especially if it’s two at once. Even if the album isn’t what you would traditionally call a “concept album”, there’s a lot of parallels and narrative you can drop with singles. Look at The Weeknd’s “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights” for example to see that while one covers the mask we put on after facing emotional romantic devastation, even if it causes us to spiral into self-destructive obsession, the other is about getting lost in someone all over again. One narrative feeds into the other seamlessly.
BANDCAMP: https://jdretroryders.bandcamp.com/
The same kind of release model can certainly be said for JD and the RetroRyders and their two singles “Save Me (From Myself” and “Good for the Soul”. JD and the RetroRyders had something of a bumpy time last year as did many acts who were planning on banking on live performances, but while they were down, they’re certainly not out and in a way, these songs actually feed into the narrative of the emotional and cultural unrest that the pandemic certainly evoked in many. If we wanna break it into two acts, “Save Me (From Myself)” is an almost jokingly rocking sound about being depressed. As someone who’s struggled with depression, the emotions and imagery the band creates are startlingly accurate to the feeling of never getting up or out of bed or even the jarring act of turning on the TV being the closest thing to engaging in real life. It’s a nice change of pace considering the go-to subject matter for self-destructive tendencies is alcohol and drugs, but the band is more introspective and critical than that, but the true wonder is how engaging the sound is. It’s got energy blazing and the opening guitar twangs and whines are great.
Joe DeMeo (The titular JD) has a really interesting voice that’s got hints of an edgy less refined Tom Petty, which isn’t an insult. It grounds the affair in this homegrown attitude that adds to the subject matter and the sense of escalation in the song with every utterance of the title just builds on each other perfectly. If “Save Me (From Myself) is about the false upbeat feelings of not being able to move, “Good For the Soul” is the hard kick in the ass to actually get up. JD with the help of a cowbell opener that immediately brings to mind the sounds of “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, weaves a narrative about getting lost in memory as a way to get out of the hard times, and he acknowledges that it’s not an easy journey, but that by doing so its as you can expect, good for the soul.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jd-and-the-retroryders/1472856333?ign-gact=3&ls=1
The two work spectacularly in tandem with one another with more than enough differences in their rock language to not sound like carbon copies of each other with different lyrics. The production is tight despite some reverb-heavy vocals occasionally, and the backing vocals are stellar. This is the lowest hanging fruit of a closer, but yes, these songs are good for the soul.
by Wyatt Kennedy
