Los Angeles (US) band, TruckerBomb, have just released their Southern Rock tinged single, Break My Heart, and we’ve been taking a few listens here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today.
Lyrically, Break My Heart is about the “narrator’s” wish to keep the one-sided love he never obtained alive rather than settle for a lesser one in real life. We liked the line “The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me”.
This is a great crossover track that takes influences from 70s dive bar Southern Rock, to heavier rock all mixed up together in a bucket of country/Americana. This is the kind of music you might hear if you walked into a bar on the wrong side of town!
The male vocals have some Bryan Adams moments as well as just a touch of Roy Orbison. Female vocals, provided by Ursula Lari (also on guitar), accompany the choruses and bolster up the lead vocals just the right amount.
We loved the electric guitar solos. The first one builds nicely to a silence, quick stop, and a gasp of breath before returning to the chorus. The second, shorter, guitar solo has a touch of Peter Frampton to it, that leads nicely into a last lyric (the title) to close.
From a production perspective, a boost around 80Hz would bring in the thump of the kick drum a little more. We felt there are a few dominant frequency ranges in the low mids which could use a little reduction. Cuts at around 160Hz, 235Hz and 475Hz would reduce some muddiness and boxy/honky tones in the mix, particularly in the vocal track. The guitars feel a little harsh so a cut around 2.5kHz would help to smooth them out a little. Finally, a high shelf boost in the top two octaves would add to the brightness and presence in the track.
Break My Heart is a Southern Rock tinged track that will tick all the right boxes for fans of the likes of Lynyrd Skynrd and Tom Petty. We’re looking forward to hearing more from this LA based artist.