It’d be easy to dismiss Zac Brown’s new project Sir Rosevelt as a vanity project but when you actually listen to his new brand of dance pop music it’s easy to see that he’s simply expanding on some of the sounds he explored a little bit the Zac Brown Band’s Jekyl + Hyde project in a separate space where the hardcore "country music only" fans aren’t pulled into a bait and switch. Sir Rosevelt is a free-flowing collection of songs written and produced with band members Niko Moon and Ben Simonetti which competes with anything heard out of the clubs and radios affixed to pop radio stations these days.
“Sunday Finest,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us” and “Something ’Bout You” all have various ear-pleasing, blends of good time vibes and EDM inspired sounds that all work well and have interesting features about them while “Hurricane”’s downtempo melody feels like it could be something straight out of an Avicii or Calvin Harris album with Zac singing a soulful lead vocal joined by a Gospel choir. It’s an emotional moment that feels like the standout of the record. Speaking of EDM and standouts, “Robert Baker” is perhaps the most EDM song on the record and something definitely ready for dance clubs. The hallmarks of a club jam are all here: the beats, the EDM spoken narration and the instrumental chorus. The EDM beats of “Take Your Love Away” work as a strong follow-up to “Robert Baker” and recall Justin Timberlake’s brand of dance/pop and it’s all good in my book, especially as a fun record to play while hosting a party or as a change-up on a long drive.
“Let Me Go” is another potential hit in the clubs and radio stations worldwide, if not on pop radio here but even if it’s not, it showcases what’s really smart about this album. Rather than market the expanding interest of EDM and dance/pop on various Zac Brown Band tracks, Zac has smartly found a separate outlet for the music and it’s a strong album for what it is. The only real critique I can give is that it’s perhaps not EDM enough for true fans of that genre but I suspect Sir Rosevelt will get some extended remix EPs with “Robert Baker” “Let Me Go,” and “Infinite & Endless” practically begging for a 10-15 minute extended mix. Well done, Sir Rosevelt, well done.
Courtney
did they spell Roosevelt wrong intentionally or is it a typo considering there were two presidents named Roosevelt Theodore and Franklin who after his death in April 1945 the law was changed to limit a presidents term to eight years unless he decides not to run for a 2nd term or is impeached or something and has to resign from office