“Roll” was recorded and mixed by Bywater drummer Bruce McCarthy at his studio, The BeatFarm, in Toronto. It was released on April 19th. “This song, through the stories of three ordinary people, speaks to the curve balls thrown at us all in the game of life,” says Bywater Call’s singer, Megan Parnell. “The lesson is that you have to hold your head up and just keep moving forward.”
Featuring a signature bass line played by Mike Meusel and conceived by keyboard player John Kervin, who throws in his own tasteful organ lick, the original inspiration for “Roll” was an old James Carr R&B tune, “The Dark End of the Street.” The song, however, quickly took on a life of it’s own.
Throw in the classic soul of Otis Redding, the American rootsiness of the Wood Brothers, a little humour and quirk, mainly supplied by drummer Bruce McCarthy’s percussion, some twangy resonator and fiery slide guitar from Dave Barnes, and sultry vocals from Meghan Parnell, and then top it all off with the unforgettable horn section of Julian Nalli (sax) and Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and a gospel-inspired build that will have us all celebrating our resilience; out comes “Roll.”.
My Review of the Single:
“Roll” has a certain jazz feel; the vocals have a real lazy Sunday evening touch, almost spoken in places. I love this band musically; they are very interesting, experimental and multi-faceted. The single sets a definite quality marker for the upcoming album, which I’m already excited about. It has this vocal-only repetition at the end too, which ends the track with a kick rather than a fadeaway. Musically, there is so much there, I enjoyed the piano, which was subtle and infused with that feel for the moment. It’s one of those, I’d say, get out and stream folks, and while you are there, listen to some of their other music too. They are heading to the UK at the end of 2024, and I’m hoping the magazine can get to one of the gigs and do a report for you all. In the interim, I’ve pegged our talk to the guys last year in a link below.
And we hope you liked the review, dear reader! If you did, please check out the other pages of the magazine; we have many great features, merchandise, editorials and even poetry! We work hard for you, and if you want to show some appreciation and support what we do, then do use the Support Us link below! Always appreciated.
You can stream the single here
By Stevie Ritson
BYWATER CALL
OCTOBER 2024 UK TOUR
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM THE GIG CARTEL, PLANET ROCK,
TICKET SOURCE, BYWATER CALL
MANCHESTER, ACADEMY 3
WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
CARDIFF, GLOBE
THURSDAY 17 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
LEEK, FOXLOWE ARTS
FRIDAY 18 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
LEEDS, BRUDENELL
SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
GLASGOW, ORAN MOR
SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
NEWCASTLE, THE CLUNY
TUESDAY 22 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
SHEFFIELD, CORPORATION
WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
NORWICH, WATERFRONT STUDIOS
THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
LONDON, DINGWALLS
FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
NEWBURY, ARLINGTON ARTS
SATURDAY 26 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: THE GIG CARTEL
SITTINGBOURNE, BOURNE MUSIC CLUB
SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER 2024
TICKETS: TICKET SOURCE