DownTown Mystic – On E Street Remix EP

If you paid close attention to what’s happening on the contemporary music scene, then you probably noticed that many artists and bands deliver excellent releases, making the scene thrive like never before. However, it seems that many of them experiment too much by stacking so many genres and elements into their music, losing the true essence of their sound over the years. You’ve probably noticed that you can’t find a good, old, traditional American rock ‘n roll anymore, or if it exists, it exists somewhere deeply in the underground, far away from the media. Thankfully, there are music outlets like DownTown Mystic who remain true to the roots. Helmed by Robert Allen, a highly experienced songwriter, producer, and musician, this exceptional music project shines with everything you ever needed from traditional rock ‘n roll music, yet infuses some modern production techniques and approaches for that contemporary sound. His latest piece of work, “On E Street Remix,” carries all the fundamental elements of the mentioned music genre, but do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from Americana, garage, hard rock, alternative, indie, and power pop. He incorporated these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift the entire material to an entirely new level, while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Lyrically, “On E Street Remix” explores various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, making this material a highly relatable piece that will unquestionably appeal to a broader audience. Throughout the entire extended play, you’ll notice how sharp lyricism and impressive musicianship collide harmoneously, making “On E Street Remix” a wondrous mixture of roots, tradition, and innovation. It’s definitely one of those recordings you’ll spin over and over again.

Recorded around the same time as “Born In The USA,” this material also includes the rhythm section from Bruce Springsteen’s legendary E Street Band , drummer “Mighty” Max Weinberg & bassist Garry Tallent. These song packs evoke nostalgia, but DownTown Mystic remastered them for these modern times, making them sound like they were recorded yesterday. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that Robert Allen paid a lot of attention while writing, composing, arranging, and producing these songs, thinking about every vocal harmony, sonic, and rhyhtmic maneuver. Each composition arrives with a perfect structure, decorated with many profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and marvelous musicianship. This epic sonic journey commences with “Way Too Long,” a thought-provoking song that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats fade. Serving as a beautiful introduction, this composition includes Allen’s soulful, passionate, confident, emotive, and powerful vocal performance, which serves as a centerpiece. His commands attention, elevating everything to new heights, and guides the listener on an epic journey through the expansive sonic universe. Each vocal line seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes, emphasizing all the instrumentation included within the song. In the meantime, the guitars shine in all their glory. The tastefully distorted guitar riffs and slide guitar accentuations shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon, while the intricate, warm, vividly hearable basslines add more than necessary groove and depth. The flawlessly performed drum beats hold everything together while adding more detail, groove, and dynamics. It’s a pure rock ‘n roll anthem that will immediately resonate with the crowd. “And You Know Why” calms things down a little bit. It’s a meaningful love ballad where arpeggiated chord progressions, catchy themes, marvelous melodies, and captivating harmonies shine. It’s nearly mindblowing how all those guitar layers articulate together without overwhelming each other, proving that DownTown Mystic thought about everything while arranging this piece. Allen’s voice perfectly pairs with additional vocal layers, back vocals, and sing-alongs, making this song as anthemic as possible. With all these vocal maneuvers, “And You Know Why” carries that recognizable, irresistible eighties rock quality. The rhythm section brings more detail through beautiful low-ends and moderate rhythmic patterns, but without overwhelming the guitars. It keeps the entire song grounded and calm, just like a rock ballad should sound.

“Hard Enough” is another danceable rock ‘n roll anthem where the guitars deliver those beautiful, tastefully distorted themes, melodies, chord progressions, and riffs; a comprehensive collection of catcy vocal lines, back vocals, and singalongs; vividly hearable basslines that offer more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while simultaneously blending mentioned instrumentations with rhyhtmic patterns; and skillfully performed, well-accentuated, energetic beats, fills, and accentuations. This composition packs enough rawness, abrasiveness, and that irresistible rock ‘n roll energy, but deep down it also carries soft, calm, mellow melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers that make the greatest songs so catchy and memorable. The same goes for “Sometimes Wrong,” a song that carries nearly all the qualities like “Hard Enough,” but besides being even more raw, aggressive, and garage-rock sounding, it also shines with beautiful synth leads and jangly, angular chord progressions. It’s one of the standouts of this material that definitely deserves your utmost attention. Alongside these four compositions, DownTown Mystic also included instrumental TV mixes of “And You Know Why” and “Way To Know,” nice additions that definitely sound equally good as the original versions with vocals. When you take a listen to the entire material, you realize how much time, effort, heart, and soul Robert Allen has poured into this material. With the tremendous help of “Mighty” Max Weinberg & bassist Garry Tallent, he crafted rock ‘n roll anthems that will stay relevant for ages. Each composition included on “On E Street Remix” can be considered a timeless classic. DownTown Mystic’s experience, knowledge, skills, creativity, and talent shine through each vocal harmony and chord progression, proving that there is still a place for traditional rock ‘n roll on a contemporary music scene. If you love rock music soulful, hearty, and powerful, “On E Street Remix” will be right up your alley. Do not miss it!