Folk music along with country are the prevailing winds on this disc. Terry Derosier's brand of music is based firmly in a folk rock style, but there really is a southern tilt to it in a lot of ways. This EP features five tracks that are all effective.
This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2018 Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.
Track by Track Review
Thunderin’ Down the Road Clean guitar opens this. Some organ shows up in the mix for flavoring. The vocals join over the top of an arrangement that's just the guitar. After the first verse other instruments come into the mix for flavoring. This is folk rock with some hints of country in the mix. There is a real classic vibe to this cut. It drops to a picked acoustic guitar movement for mellower verse later. It powers up after that section to a jam that includes both organ and electric guitar solos.
Restless Dreamer
There is more of a rock sound to this cut. It feels like something that would have been at home in the 1970s. There are still hints of country music, but more like southern rock. The cut is definitely built around folk music, too. While this is classy, and I like it, it's not as potent as the opener was.
Ten Thousand Ways
An acoustic guitar based tune, there is a lot more country in the mix here. Still, folk and rock are both part of this. It's another that feels like it would have fit well within the mellower southern rock textures of the 70s. The female backing vocals lend a different element.
Carolina Always on My Mind The guitar fills on this lends a lot of country music to the mix. That said, there is some here even without that. Yet, this is clearly not all country in any way. It's a folk rock song more than anything else. It has some catchy hooks, some tasty guitar work and a good energy.
Hot Summer Sun From the fiddle that opens this, it's clear that the cut has a lot of country built into it. It's a real hoedown kind of thing. This is energized and fun. It's a tasty way to end the set.