Dave Benton made bleary and impassioned rock ‘n’ roll music for years with his old band LVL UP. Since he’s taken up with his own Trace Mountains project, his music has gotten a little softer and cushier, but naturally that old inclination doesn’t die easy. Today, he’s sharing a new song called “Rock & Roll” off his upcoming new album Lost In The Country — he shared its title track last month — and it’s all about the ways that heavy music can provide clarity. The song

Here’s what Benton said about the track in a statement:

I wanted to write a song about rock & roll. One of our favorite bands to listen to in the van is AC/DC, and we made a playlist of songs about being a rocker. I don’t know if this really turned out how I imagined it would – I might have liked a little more machismo. For some reason, I couldn’t just write a simple song about rocking. Maybe it’s revealing of what kind of a rock band Trace Mountains is. We did manage to get a few guitar solos in there though, my favorite of which was played by New York blues guitarist Stew Cutler at the end of the song.

TOUR DATES:
05/08 Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
05/09 Middletown, CT @ MAC 650
05/14 Albany, NY @ The Linda
05/15 Burlington, VT @ Burlington City Arts
05/16 Montreal, QC @ Diving Bell Social Club
05/17 Toronto, ON @ The Baby G
05/18 Windsor, ON @ Meteor
05/19 Fort Wayne, IN @ Brass Rail
05/20 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean (Downstairs)
05/21 Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s Locker Room
05/22 Columbus, OH @ Big Room Bar
05/23 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Roboto Project
05/29 Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Vinyl Cafe
05/30 Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb’s

Lost In The Country is out 4/10 via Lame-O Records. Pre-order it here.