Resilient and enticing in the song’s most powerful moments, the beat in “Stone Cold” is at the impenetrable soul of the epic new single from Old Man Jack. “Stone Cold” blends elements of blues and old-school rock n’ roll to push out a plethora of textured harmonies inside of its seemingly short running time, but it’s anything but overly experimental in design.
As anyone who knows Old Man Jack is already aware, this is one act that knows how to seamlessly amalgamate their influences, and in this single, they deliver some of their smoothest stuff yet.
There’s a lot of color to the guitar parts here, but they’re hardly the only melodic gem to behold in “Stone Cold.” On the contrary, there’s plenty of exoticisms to be enjoyed within the wallop of bass and percussive intensity we meet on the backend of the mix, and though the more abrasive parts aren’t the most chilling of all the components here, they don’t feel any less organic at all. Serious audiophiles are bound to appreciate this track’s multilayered style right out of the box, and I’m not the only critic saying so this spring season.
Even without the presence of more sophisticated lyrics, there’s an expressive feel to pretty much every element of “Stone Cold.” The relationship between the strings and the drum parts is integral to creating the liberating finish on the other side of the hook, and while I would have made the percussive points just a little louder than they ultimately are near the climax of the track, this oversight isn’t enough to dampen my impression of the groove. From top to bottom, I get the feeling Old Man Jack puts a lot of time and effort into this single, much as they have all of their previous work.
I love the arrangement here, and despite its progressive nature, I believe it will ultimately be what attracts pop fans to the heat this single has to offer. The bassline forces the tension right out of the mix, and though the bass cuts into the underlying groove, they don’t interrupt the flow of the beat at all. “Stone Cold” doesn’t follow a conventional route to the finish line, but with that said, it manages to get us there (and in a timely fashion) a lot easier than any of the other tracks I’ve reviewed this month can.
If you like soul, blues, and genuine rock thrown into a blender, this is a song that you need to check out before the month is out. “Stone Cold” is a great combination of the aforementioned influences that steer clear of overindulgences altogether, which isn’t exactly common among material as ambitiously crafted as it undeniably is. Old Man Jack continues to impress like few others in their scene can in this latest release, and for my money, I think this could be one of their best – and most complete – works tailored to the needs of blues fans all over the world so far.
Claire Uebelacker
