Single Review – North Country – Rocket Club
14 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on Single Review – North Country – Rocket Club
Songwriters: Chris Hawkey, Brian Kroening, Joel Sayles, Don Smithmier
Started as a songwriting project between Don Smithmier and Brian Kroening , Minnesota band Rocket Club is getting ready to release a third album. The title track, ‘North Country,’ is the lead-off single.
The subtext message of ‘North Country’seems to be ‘Who says southern rock has to be from the south?’ Indeed. Rocket Club references the thousand lakes, St Croix River and harsh winters in this invitation to party up north. Lynyrd Skynyrd has been mentioned as an influence but this heavy track is close to being ‘Whitesnake with banjos’.
The lyrics are kept simple with short phrases, going in tandem with the weighty guitars. There are few filler lines and everything adds to the original premise. The lines This is where the old man Mississippi//Starts to rip and make his run, cleverly reminds us where the much-serenaded-in-country-music river starts. If this is an intentional wink: kudos.
Mostly steadily built up, the song jumps from rock track, to a clap-along breakdown in the bridge, a chorus of na-na-nas, back to a clap-along outro. It doesn’t interfere much but the song would have carried even more impact if it stayed a little more level.
As far as production goes, they stay just on the right side of wall-of-sound. Hawkey’s vocals are incredibly accomplished and I will forgive the occasional oversinging on this party-anthem.
With an overabundance of songs telling us you’re not country unless your world revolves around cane poles, catfish, driving your truck through the southern mud and the pines while sipping a cold beer, a party song that breaks the mold is very much welcome. Hopefully country radio will feel the same way.
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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