There are a lot of really talented indie bands around today making great music, and I enjoy giving at least some of them a bit of press to hopefully introduce them to a wider audience. One of my favorites is Texas alt-rock band Roadkeeper, who since forming in 2018 have consistently put out a string of exceptional singles. I featured them twice on this blog last year (you can read my reviews under ‘Related’ at the bottom of this article), and especially loved their single “Old Man’s War”, a stunning track about anxiety and worry over things, both real and imagined. It spent 18 weeks on my Weekly Top 30, and ended up at #51 on my Top 100 Songs of 2019 list. They’ve just released their sixth and latest single “Downs“, a beautiful song that I’ve chosen as my New Song of the Week.

Based in the eastern Texas city of Tyler, Roadkeeper consists of songwriter/producer John Hetherington (vocals, synths, rhythm guitar), Trevor Tull (lead guitar), Nick Cogdill (drums) and Daniel Griffith (bass), all long-time friends. Roadkeeper is completely independent and self-produced, doing their recording, producing and mixing in John’s studio – dubbed ‘Yacht Country’ – and releasing their songs on their own label Equal Temperament. Blending dreamy shoegaze and dramatic psychedelic rock with complex melodic structures, they craft lush soundscapes that are a perfect backdrop for their intelligent and topically relevant lyrics that give us something to think about.

With that in mind, the band states that “Downs” “is a personal contemplation of impostor syndrome and not finding one’s place within the cultural and sociopolitical zeitgeist.” The lyrics speak to feeling disconnected with one’s surroundings and the people we interact with: “I feel so disconnected from the qualities of people. My sense of self is out of style. I dread to leave my house and the comfort of this down. I just wanna stick around. I just need a better life.”

Musically, Roadkeeper starts with a simple two-chord progression and layer a lush palette of glittery analog synths and beautifully-strummed acoustic guitars to create a dreamy soundscape. The track opens with an enchanting minute-long introduction of atmospheric synths, then a toe-tapping beat kicks in, along with the aforementioned acoustic guitars and a sublime piano riff that are really gorgeous. John has a smooth and pleasing vocal style that’s well-suited to the band’s sound, and his slightly echoed vocals are especially wonderful here. “Downs” is a superb song, and one of Roadkeeper’s best yet.

Connect with Roadkeeper:  Facebook / Twitter  / Instagram
Stream their music on Spotify / Soundcloud
Purchase on Bandcamp / iTunes / Google Play