I was relieved to see that looking into the posting of this single to Troy Lindsey’s social-media/Facebook page yielded the answers to the questions I had about this new song “Outlaw Love” he’s put out. Some of you out there are already aware of my status in terms of musical knowledge – it’s all out there on record in some form or another – I’m a music-guy yes…but not a very learned one. I don’t know what I’m playing when I play it, I just do what I do and in thirty-five years still could tell you the basic chords of a guitar and not much else about it…same with bass, drums, keyboards…I can play them all, just don’t know what the heck I’m doing. Had a really good talk about it all with extreme metal band Expain back in the day on SBS Live This Week actually…4/5 of that band were intensely learned musicians with massive educations and then at the end of the line were guitarist Pat Peeve and myself trying to figure out what the heck they were all even talking about.
“Outlaw Love”
https://www.facebook.com/tandalindsey/videos/10153136094174107/?_rdr=p
To this day, musical timing itself still completely eludes me. I absolutely know when I’m not hearing something made in 4/4…but I’ll be damned if I could tell you what the timing would then BE. My brain has an uncanny ability to turn anything into a bizarre mathematical equation that results in things being ONLY divided into four, no matter what they’re really timed out as. Again – I can DO it…just don’t tell me I’m playing or singing something in anything other than 4/4 or I’ll immediately try to figure it out and put myself through hell doing so. At the end of it all – I still won’t know, and I’ll just go back to finding my way however the best I can. #TheStruggleIsReal.
So massive thank-you to Troy Lindsey for being so accessible to his fan-base and talking about the 5/4 verse and 4/4 chorus of “Outlaw Love” – now I at least know what it is I’m hearing! A light-hearted country-rock song with smooth tones and talented musicianship – “Outlaw Love” immediately starts out apart from the rest of what I usually hear within this genre.
And that’s where I stop for a moment and again thank Troy Lindsey & Bosaya from making this experience with country-music a unique one for me. Without some sort of different quality or aspect happening in this genre, it always walks a very fine-line of sounding completely ‘done’ to me…to me it’s an entire genre that has a lot more territory to explore; and after hearing “Outlaw Love” from his album Cold Emotion – I’m convinced I’ve got an ally in Troy Lindsey…that he might agree with that very statement.
Because he’s DOING it…he’s making those tweaks and changes, bending the genre and borrowing influence but never too much. I mean…this is maybe just a step-before what one might even go as far as to consider to be ‘progressive-country-rock’ – is there such a thing? The complexity of the timing makes the song standout quickly to the ears – but I think what makes it a real winner is that Troy has found a way to make the 5/4 beat of his completely accessible to our earholes. That could very well be because of the standard-timing of the catchy-chorus to follow…but I don’t think that’s all there is to it. I think that Troy has actually stumbled onto something a little cooler than that…I think he’s found a way to simplify the complexity and really make this melody memorable for the average everyday Joe like me.
“Outlaw Love” really is a smooth piece of writing no matter how you look at it, and it’s put together by a crack-team of ace-musicians that make this song snap together perfectly with their precision. You’ve got Matthew Lee supplying some wicked licks bursting with bright tone on the guitars, the playful piano of Josh Schultz that compliments the well-timed beats from Scotty Schultz perfectly. Johnny Stanton supplies a solid bass-rhythm throughout and Troy brings out the best of himself in a comfortable vocal-flow that has every word sounding placed right where it should be.
So there you have it…kudos to you Troy Lindsey, you’ve got my attention and you’ve managed to do something different with country-music for us all through “Outlaw Love.” There’s a whole different level you can listen to this song on, if you were to ask me…well, many I’m sure…but try listening to this new-single from the perspective that the ‘love’ in question is maybe the love of country-music itself…and maybe the ‘outlaw’ part comes from Troy’s ability to see further ahead into the future of this genre than most of us can. It could very well be the expression of love that Troy has for country-music and a genuine communication of his mission to break through tradition and into new territory.
Cause let’s face it…he could have just written another tune in standard 4/4 and from the sounds of the hooks here on “Outlaw Love,” I’m sure we all would have loved it. I think Troy Lindsey might be onto something here in this single that could go on to really help define a place for him within country-music, one completely his own that IS genuinely different from the rest.
And guaranteed…if he stays on this path of challenging himself and the genre to new-levels of creativity…he won’t be alone; our ears crave new, exciting ideas in music and Troy’s got’em here on “Outlaw Love” – and they’re bound to capture the attention and interest of music-lovers of all-genres. Country-music/Americana and I don’t frequently get along, but innovation, passion and creativity are always admirable qualities in my headphones. And today…today Troy Lindsey’s got me convinced there are people out there in this genre that are still ready to move it forward, break new ground and express this style of music from a unique perspective – he’s done a fantastic job on “Outlaw Love.”
Find out more from Troy Lindsey’s official page at: http://www.troylindsey.com/
Jer@SBS – http://sleepingbagstudios.ca/
