Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to The High Road’s latest single, Brand New You, released on January 11, 2023.
The High Road are Vancouver (Canada) based Don Scott (Vocals, Guitar, Keys), Ron Fathers (Vocals, Bass, Guitar), Richard Fathers (Vocals, Guitar, Keys, Lap Steel Guitar, Harmonica), Dave Martin (Vocals, Keys, Guitar, Drums) and Greg Frank (Drums, Vocals).
Brand New You comes in with a full band country rock sound immediately and the vocals join the mix fairly quickly, ensuring that the listener is immediately captivated. We love the addition of harmonies towards the end of the first verse which then extend into the chorus.
A cool country guitar riff ties the sections together, repeating frequently and bringing the listener further in. A truly engaging riff which has some double guitar harmonies.
The chorus of Brand New You is super catchy. The soaring harmonies are positively euphoric and as all band members are vocalists, we can only imagine how captivating this band are to see live.
The whole song has a slightly nostalgic country/classic rock feel: reminiscent of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the guitar solo in particular reminded us of later Skynyrd style.
The key change bridge after the solo is a great touch and gives an added increase in energy to the track before heading back into another rousing chorus and that super-cool guitar riff and fingerpicked style ending with the perfect country tone on the guitar.
Ideas from our ears
A hi-pass filter at around 35Hz would remove all the unnecessary low-end rumble and a small boost around 75Hz would add some extra thump to the kick drum. A couple of cuts at around 500Hz and 1kHz would reduce some ‘honky’ and ‘nasal’ tones. A boost around 4kHz would add some extra presence and definition too. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
We absolutely love The High Road’s latest single, Brand New You. For fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd and country with a touch of classic rock, this is a must-listen track. We’re looking forward to hearing more from this stunning Canadian band.