Wanna Be

If you remember, a few weeks back I talked about artist Roderick.  Last Tuesday he released a new track "Wanna Be," and it is exactly how I thought it would be.

All About Roderick

[Photo:  Roderick, YouTube]

I personally consider this song to be my favorite of his.  It has a groove and vibe that is hard to find in current music--almost the same as The 1975, but unlike The 1975, Roderick's songs all sound different and creative (sorry fans of The 1975).  The engineering and mixing are both very professional, and that may be because he is the one doing all of the heavy lifting.  Jeff Lynne (you all know how much I love him) did the work for ELO and look how far it got them.  Having complete control is perfect in the music business, because you can put out music that you and only you believe in, which is a big reason why Roderick has been so successful thus far.

One of the most difficult things to achieve in music is releasing music that people can purely relate to.  I see a lot in popular music that music is perceived to be relatable, when in reality, the listeners just think it is because it is being performed by one of their favorites.  To dumb it down, music is easy to bullshit.  Roderick describes his music as "Songs about life from an honest perspective" (Source).  That description in itself is a very honest one.  Unlike artists on the charts who are almost 100% influenced by the people surrounding them, it is clearly evident in Roderick's music (in particular "Wanna Be" for the sake of this post) that he is using only his personal experiences to convey messages through music.

This NEW song (and his others) are absolutely worth listening to.  You can stream this track on Spotify.

Room For Rent

Stephen Kellner, also know as Roderick, is no newbie to the New Jersey music scene.  In it since around 2006, Stephen has a very diverse and expansive musical repertoire.  Van Atta High, who released their debut full-length Run Like Hell in 2007, went for a more pop-punk vibe, while Roderick has a sound more comparable to Dashboard Confessional.

[Photo: Roderick, Instagram]

Roderick released full-length Memory in 2011, and then 12:34 in 2014 with an acoustic version of the album in 2017.  For the most part, the songs on Memory are somewhat bouncy--a mid-2000s-pop-rock-anthem type of album. "Room For Rent" is probably the best example for that analogy.   "Rhythm of Love" by the Plain White T's is a poppier version of Roderick's music, making "Room For Rent" the perfect cross between genres.

You hear some maturity in the quality of both his vocal style and songwriting with his second album 12:34.  Focusing on "Awake Before Dawn," Roderick exercises a better grasp on dynamics (volume) and arrangements.  This album is a good summary of his music career thus far.  You get a sense of his roots intertwined with his new approach.

I'm writing this post as a prologue to his upcoming single "Wanna Be," which is coming out on April 10th, so expect a review of that in the next few weeks.

You can follow him on Instagram and streams these albums on Spotify.