Jesse Grossi is back with his latest single, Road Takes Me, and he’s really taken us by surprise here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today.
Previous tracks from Jesse have included “Outcast” and “Queen of Spades” both of which sit much more in the California Indie Rock genre. Grossi shows his versatility in this track. Road Takes Me is an acoustic, percussion-free track that has a little bit of a Mediaeval feel to it – almost like a Minstrel is playing guitar for his Lord.
Jesse’s slightly nasal, California rock vocal remains throughout this track, lending itself to an interesting sound that you couldn’t definitely place solely in a folk category.
The gently picked acoustic guitar leads the way throughout this track and it is played beautifully. At points a harmony comes in to back up Grossi’s voice and we feel that this is where he is at his strongest vocally.
The melody and rhythm of the vocal line is comfortable and easily accessible. It leaves you free to listen to the lyrics and pay attention to the message of the song. The bass guitar in places follows the vocal line.
Road Takes Me is a song about feeling alone. It’s about feeling trapped and struggling with sobriety. Road Takes Me is a song which speaks of the demons that we wrestle with in our heads.
In the middle of the track there is an unexpected, heavily reverbed, electric guitar solo. When it first comes in, it feels a little out of place along with the Minstrel style acoustic guitar, but its simplicity and charm win through and we feel treated to a whole new side of Jessi Grossi.
From a production perspective, the acoustic guitar has been recorded very well. It is full and bright sounding and even when the rest of the band enter, the transients still cut nicely through the mix. There is a slightly honky resonance around 190Hz in the guitar which could be notched out but it’s not dominating the track as it sometimes can do.
Jessi Grossi’s versatility impressed us today with this totally differently styled track. A minstrel style simple folk song with an important message. Great stuff!