Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from Canadian band, Stereo Sunrise. Plains On Fire was released on January 20th, 2023.
Stereo Sunrise are Piero Montemurro (Lead Guitar) Justin Koetsier, (Vocals, Rhythm Guitar) Mark Hoerdt, (Drums) Arih SK, (Bass Guitar) and are based in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Lyrically, the song explores deceit, deception, and lies, along with the negative fallout from those approaches.
Plains On Fire starts with a superb stereo drum fill. When the guitars come in, the song takes on a Brian Setzer/ Stray Cats feel – also reminiscent of Green Day’s, Long View. We love the time signature changes in the intro and verse, swapping between 4/4 and 5/4 before setting on 4/4 for the choruses. This truly brings the track to life and gives it some really exciting character for the listener to get their teeth into.
The layered vocals have a nostalgic feel to them, with some lovely harmonies in places. At times they feel used as an extra instrument, filling gaps between vocal lines.
The drum fills are a real feature of this song. The dynamic soundscape is made all the more interesting for them and the moment they come to a complete stop and burst back in with the full band is a positively exhilarating section of the song.
The song ends with a lovely portamento moment on the lead vocal and a whammy bar-like flourish on guitar.
Ideas from our ears
A boost around 55Hz would add extra some thump to the low end. A similar boost around 300-350Hz would increase the fullness in that area and a last boost centred around 3kHz for some extra definition overall. A great way to get some extra brightness would be to use a single-band compressor on the top 2 octaves with a little make-up gain. Finally, a light compressor/limiter with maybe as much as 5dB of make-up gain would add some more warmth to the track as well as raising the volume to match similar releases. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
Stereo Sunrise are on a mission to bring a touch of nostalgia and lost feeling back into rock music. For fans of Green Day, Blind Melon and 90s rock/ rock ’n roll.