The “twoferu” release by JD & the RetroRyders comes with two brilliant new singles in one, to keep the tradition of Power Pop and music in general alive in 2020, with both turning in terrific tunes to live by. They do this by going against each other with vastly different songs and get the best of both worlds in the process. The songwriting of JD (Joe DeMeo) is accompanied by lead guitarist Al Lepson and they’re teamed up in Huntington Beach, CA, with Mike Willson on drums and Adrian Sanchez on bass. Also singing with JD are Nicole Kubis and Nicole Perreira, along his love Wendy.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jdretroryders/
These guys don’t just record and release music, they’re a live force to reckon with as well. Their music reflects more of a live feel in the studio to easily convey back to audiences at their shows which after hearing JD & the RetroRyders, I’d like to get out to see someday in the future. You may recall I reviewed them a while back?
The production on both these songs is clean and perfectly mixed and engineered, as are their songs, as I’ve come to notice. And the lyrics keep you interested without taking over the musical beauty and letting the great vocal harmonies do the rest.
“Fire In My Fingertips” is everything you’d want in a rock ‘n roll number, with the simplicity of the past and the fury of today, and some hope for the future thrown in for good measure. It’s all about making it out on the open road and the challenges that comes with doing the job of a traveling musician. The song kicks off with a blazing riff from Lepson, which almost threatens to take the song over from the-get go, but like yin and yang, DeMeo comes in and takes the song where it means to go. And then they both spar in an almost punkish way, but that just could be an early Tom petty influence when he had that angst about him. At the end of the day, this song gets no complaints as it rocks away and ends with a burning guitar feedback.
YOU TUBE MUSIC: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCW1x1GJJKdjrB19D3PHBufw
“No Secret” is another animal altogether, with a whole different approach but with the same impact as the former but slowed to a more comprehensive pace. The way it compliments the first song is what matters the most, as they go together without sounding like they were made for one another. While “Fire In My Fingertips” is more rocking, “No Secret” is more paid back and easy to consume, but they both evenly play with equal enjoyment. The music matters the most, but this is also a band on the rise to watch for, so following their concert schedule is recommended as much as “towferu” and their first EP. If I were to choose which of the tracks featured on this single have the edge, it would be a hard choice but “No Secret” is getting the most spins from me so far, so it’s an indication of which one I favor the most at this point. But I still couldn’t have one without the other.
Garth Thomas