Track of the Day: Matt Paxton – Let’s Rock N Roll Again
Canada seems to be some kind of breeding ground for excellent singer-songwriters. Let’s leave aside that well-known crop of greats like Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot and quite a few others. What about newer crops like Daniel Romano, Cathleen Edwards, Alfie Jurvanen (Bahamas)? If you haven’t heard yet, Matt Paxton. He already has five albums and quite a few singles under his belt with his latest single ‘Let’s Rock N Roll Again’. Actually, producer Aaron Goldstein and Stephen Pitkin who mastered this track have worked with both Romano and Edwards, Carleigh Aikins who is featured on backing vocals has the same duties for Bahamas.
Certainly not the old rock ’n’ roll fifties or early sixties style, but a Jackson Brown-style mid-tempo ballad with some biting electric guitar to spice it up. Yet what impresses the most here is Paxton’s assured songwriting with vocals that fully match the potential of the song itself. The other reason the song works may lie in the fact that through his previous work Paxton has concentrated on what works best for singer-songwriters – wearing their hearts on their sleeves, delving into themes of love, loss, desire, and self-reflection. Of course, this could backfire if you overdo it, but Paxton’s experience of sharing the stage with the likes of Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Justin Rutledge and Rob Baker, Evan Dando, and many more put him in a position to know how to tame self-reflection and not turn it into self-pity.
For more from Matt Paxton check out his Twitter and Spotify.
