Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from, one of our favourite Country artists, Steve Pointmeier. Incendiary was released on January 30th, 2023, and for fans of quality country rock, you simply can’t go wrong with this track.
Incendiary has the full, clear sound we’ve come to expect from Pointmeier. Every instrument is given plenty of space to shine and nothing is dominating. This is Country Rock at its absolute finest and easily stands up against some of the huge names in this genre today.
The snare in the track is beautifully smacking through and clear. It keeps the song energised throughout. We love the use of panning in the guitars and the bassline holds its own, throwing in the occasional melodic line – especially during the guitar solo.
Pointmeier makes superb use of incidental instrumental fills by changing which instrument draws your attention between lyric lines. At times it is a mandolin, other times a fiddle, slide or even piano. This helps to maintain interest throughout and delight the listener with the diversity.
Subtle harmonies are added in places, especially in the choruses, and sit perfectly in the mix. Steve’s voice is perfect for this style of music, with just the right amount of country twang. We love the occasional sparing use of echo on the voice, whilst the reverbs are left sparse, keeping the vocal up front and relatively dry. This is perfect for this genre of music: the lyrics are always the focus in a country song, and by keeping them up front in the mix, you can hear every lyric clearly and precisely.
The guitar solo takes a slightly late-Skynyrd feel to it and gives both guitarist and bassist a chance to shine before dropping to a breakdown which builds back up into a chorus to end.
Pointmeier’s music is deservingly reaching a wide audience, with some great festival slots under his belt (Big Valley Jamboree (Alberta), Nashville North Tent (Calgary Stampede), The Ranchmans and Cook County Saloon (Alberta), Dog Patch Music Festival.). His music is accessible and appealing and we have no doubt this Canadian artist has everything needed to make a name for himself on the North American Country Music scene.