Shawn Brown Drops An Anthemic and Relatable New Single
- BuzzSlayers
- Jul 24
- 6 min read
A brand new single release from Shawn Brown delivers quite a classic feel by bringing together Southern rock and Americana, with this sort of classic rock undertone that comes through with a bit of vibrancy and warmth.
There's definitely something about this track that feels a bit cinematic, and it doesn't only have to do with the instrumentation, but with the lyrics as well.
This track is robust. It gives you a lot to chew on in the sense that it's bringing on great layers of tones, but also telling you a story at the same time.
Now, I'm usually a guitar guy. I pay more attention to the guitar work, licks, and hooks than the lyrics, but this time around really grabbed me.
"What A Way To Go", to me, felt like a song about the need to escape where you are. It's about the feeling that the place that you live in, whether or not you grew up there, is keeping you down. It feels like it'll eventually destroy you.
That yearning to get out and escape is a heavy-handed feeling when it's happening to you, and this song displays a lot of that sensation.
The sentiment is about getting out of there; otherwise you might be stuck forever.
Now, this is just how I interpreted the song. Others may take it a little differently, but for me, the sentiment was loud and clear.
I certainly connected with this aspect of the track almost immediately, and I feel like Shawn delivers that message with a sort of closed-fisted, hands-in-the-air aesthetic that feels almost anthemic.
The track starts off telling you some of the story, and doing it well. Shawna is a great storyteller, and he adds just the right amount of detail and description to his lyrics to help you paint a picture in your head as the song plays through.
The guitars aren't so robust just yet. They're calm so that you're getting a hold of the verses in the story.
Then, when the chorus comes in, the guitar opens up, and Things become more widespread. The song ends up feeling a little bit filmic as the hook belts out with harmonies and power that feels a little bit emotional.
And it really should. If the song is indeed about what I feel like it's about, then it should have that emotional backing attached.
The way he layers those vocal harmonies is really wonderful. They are colorful but still have this sort of underlying edginess to them.
Again, the blend of classic rock and Southern tone is everything here. The guitars can give off a little bit of twang. It's nothing over the top, but it just gives that Southern push a little bit extra, and this helps the song come through with a bit of warmth.
Another element of the song that gives some of that warmth in terms of its tone is the fact that it sounds like there's a piano deep in the background. It just adds a little bit of something extra. It lets the song deliver more depth in its soundscape.
They're very pushed back. They're not really upfront, and I think they did that on purpose, so that the rock element was more in your face, while the pianos are something that helps push melody and tone from the back forward.
This was such a borderline genius idea. I've listened to the song several times, and I'm hearing a piano, though I could be wrong. It could just be my ears playing tricks on me and their guitars.
You'll have to listen for yourself to find out, obviously.
Either way, this is definitely a sort of powerhouse single. It speaks volumes for Shawn as it showcases someone who's able to deliver some of that emotion and tell stories, but still keep things very balanced.
I think Shawn writes with a natural balance that makes perfect sense.
By that last chorus, organs are filling any kind of space, the vocals and guitars are at their height, bringing the highest level of intensity, and the entire thing is just boisterous and incredibly impactful.
He really also knows how to build a song up to that climactic point beautifully. This was all very well done, and it's not something that you should be missing out on.
After I listened to this one, I decided I wanted to talk to the artist about it a little bit so I could find out more.
Don't miss out on our interview with Shawn brown below.
A lot about this had a bit of a homeland rock undertone! Americana and Southern tones blended right in! What kind of bands are you most inspired or influenced by?
How much time do you have?! Being a psycho music fan first and foremost, I could talk all day about bands and artists that I love and have been influenced by. My influences as a songwriter have always been really super varied. I love bands like Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt because I’m fascinated by the intersection between punk rock, folk and country. I’ve always loved bands like Social Distortion and The Gaslight Anthem for that reason. Counting Crows have always been big for me too. Then there’s “Gold Standard” artists like Marc Cohn, John Mellencamp, Tracy Chapman and Patty Griffin - all geniuses. You don’t really want to get me rolling on all this stuff, we’ll be here till next week.
What are you performing on this one?
I’m just singing on this track. It was great to cut basic tracks for this tune in Portland with the guys in my live band. We’ve only done this way one other time, on a song of mine called “Hold Fast”. Grecco Buratto flew up to Portland from LA and produced the session. He played a bunch of guitars on the track too.
What's the song about from your perspective?
It’s definitely layered. On the surface, the song unravels almost like a parable of doomed love but there’s more to it than that. I’ve already been asked a lot about the “Steve Earl already left town” line, which is great! I’m glad folks are so curious. Again, there’s a parable in there somewhere that I hope people really like.
When you write songs, is it normally lyrics first, or instrumental parts?
Funny enough, they come separately. I’m always making notes of interesting lines or conversations that I think might make interesting lyrics. Then separately I noodle away on the guitar and inevitably a hook or a chord sequence will show up and send me back to my lyric notes for something that might match. I don’t typically write very purposely anymore. I’ve learned - for myself - the songs show up when they’re ready. They sort of drop out of the sky.
Looks like you have some performances coming up both solo and full band, is that correct?
That’s true. I’m doing both solo and full band shows to support the single.
Do you normally perform with a full band backing you?
I play with my full band as often as I can. When I moved to Portland, I was pretty diligent in trying to get out into the scene to meet and play with as many musicians as I could. I wanted to put together a set lineup for this band, which we have now and it’s great. All the guys have been close friends for years, so I’m constantly benefiting from their established relationships. It’s blast playing in our band.
Are they the same musicians from the recording?
Yes, as I mentioned before, we cut basic tracks in Portland with Ben Landsverk, Jeff Langston, and Ned Failing over at Gregg William’s studio. Grecco flew up from LA and produced the session and then added all his parts to the mix.
Are you working on anything new already?
I am actually! I’ve already written a companion tune in response to “What a Way to Go” which I really want to jump on and cut ASAP.
You have been at this for quite some time! Any advice for other bands out there trying to get heard?
Look I’ve made just about every mistake you can make as I’ve moved through different chapters in this industry. There’s a lot I’d like to share, but I’ll just say this for now. If you really want to be heard, get off social media as much as possible. Part of why pop music is currently so boring and cookie cutter is that artists are spending way too much time generating content for social media and, in turn, being influenced by other content creators in their feeds. Nothing authentic or interesting is going to come from that kind of feedback loop. If you want to be heard, you have to put in the time and focus on generating a real authentic point of view. That ain’t happening if your nose is buried in your phone. Put down the phone and go outside.
Anything you want to say to listeners and fans of the music?
Just thank you. Thanks for sticking with me all this time. Every share, every tag, every ticket to a show. It means everything to me. Thanks you guys!
Comments