Sophomore Lounge record label founder and former State Champion leader Ryan Davis is rolling out the latest album from his Roadhouse Band, New Threats From The Soul. Its Berman-inspired title track was mighty satisfying, and so is single #2. "Monte Carlo / No Limits" boasts backing vocals from Jenny Rose and strings from Elizabeth Fuschia. It's the sort of slightly ornery swaggering roots rock we've come to expect from Davis, but it also has an unexpected foray into drum 'n' bass later on. Yes, drum 'n' bass.
Davis has a statement to share:
There was something about it that held a slightly alternative tone than the rest of the record, or the rest of my songs in general, which I think allowed me to feel less precious about it. I could throw in an awkwardly placed and totally damaged "guitar solo" (if that's what you can even call it) without feeling like it would devalue the verses before or after it. At one point in the studio, we were listening to some roughs and I muttered to myself with only about 60% seriousness "I'm kind of hearing a jungle break type thing happening during the intro/middle/outro riff," unsure of whether anyone was even listening to me. Within less than two minutes, Seth [Manchester, engineer] asked "are you thinking something like this?" and played us a super rudimentary version of what was ultimately sculpted into those crazy DnB/tambo sections. We couldn't stop laughing, and, more often than not, when we're tickled by something to that extent in the studio, it means we're likely onto something worth pursuing. Getting Jenny to overdub the backing vocals once we returned home was the icing on the cake. Her voice is just perfect for it.
Hear it for yourself below.
New Threats From The Soul is out 7/25 on Sophomore Lounge/Tough Love.
