Sometimes Y, the exciting new rock project from superstars Yelawolf and Shooter Jennings, has released their new single “Rock & RollBaby,” the latest offering from the group’s self-titled debut studio album, out March 11th via Slumerican. The brooding track, and its compelling visual, suggests a more psychedelic Lynyrd Skynyrd in its reflection on the spiritual and emotional consequences of growing up too fast. PRESS HERE to download/stream and watch the official music video for “Rock & Roll Baby,” directed by Spidey Smith below.
“Rock & Roll Baby” follows the group’s infectious debut single “Make Me A Believer,” which has been receiving rave reviews from fans and media as well as comparisons to everyone from The Killers and Kings of Leon to Bruce Springsteen. The track is also currently featured on top rock playlists like Spotify’s Pure Rock & Roll and New Noise, Apple Music’s New In Rock, Amazon’s Rock Arena and YouTube Music’s Maximum Decibels. PRESS HERE to watch the music video for “Make Me A Believer,” which has already amassed over 2.5 million views since its release in January.
Sometimes Y is available to pre-order now at DSPs; each digital pre-save will include an instant download of “Make Me A Believer” and “Rock & Roll Baby” – PRESS HERE. The album will also be available physically on CD and vinyl; CD pre-order and Sometimes Y merch items are available now via Yelawolf’s official webstore HERE.
“Some songs are just waiting to happen; you never know when it’s all gonna spill out in life or take shape in your music,” shares Yelawolf. “‘Rock & Roll Baby’ was just some compartmentalized energy I was holding on to that needed to be aired out. I think a lot of people can relate to being leaned on by your parents before we’re ready to handle it. But when you finally stand up and hold space to protect your parents or yourself, you exchange your innocence for it. At the same time, you gain the strength of an adult. Hardships make for great musicians. And that’s a shame really. But rather than being a martyr, we turn that into a source of inspiration. It’s a conundrum. The joy you get making music while expressing sadness.”
“‘Rock & Roll Baby’ was the second song that we wrote for the Sometimes Y project, one of only two that I had written the music to prior to us going into the studio as a band,” Jennings explains. “Musically, I had set out to create a tune that was a brooding, cinematic journey to take the listener on and for Yelawolf to paint his story to. The band performed the song with moody grace and the ominous tale that our front man weaved around the music was the perfect fit for the song. This is one of my favorites because it has the classic Yelawolf cadences, amazing lead guitar work from John Schreffler, and an all-around all-star performance from the rest of the band. It even includes some sounds recorded on the Angel Tube in London to create the real-life dystopian atmosphere.”
On paper, Yelawolf, hailed as “one of hip-hop’s most vital voices” by The Guardian, and Shooter Jennings, one of the Americana world’s most sought-after producers and songwriters, might not seem like the most obvious combination. But after listening to their collaboration as Sometimes Y, you’ll quickly come to understand that their chemistry, built from a decades-long plus friendship, is in fact as intoxicating as it is unexpected.
Sometimes Y, produced by two-time GRAMMY Award winner Jennings, is a bold and intoxicating rock and roll hybrid, one that fuses past and future sounds to conjure up some alternate universe where David Bowie fronted Thin Lizzy or Axl Rose sang with The Cars. The songs on the forthcoming album are as addictive as they are unpredictable, mixing ’80s bombast and arena rock energy with country earnestness and hip-hop swagger. Jennings’ production work is lush but never crowded, and Yelawolf’s lyrics are utterly arresting, grappling insightfully with purpose and perseverance, struggle and triumph, pain and transcendence. The 10 tracks on the album were recorded at L.A.’s famed Sunset Sound Studios, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the heart of a tumultuous summer marked by social and political upheaval. With Yelawolf as the invigorating front man, Jennings, who appears on synthesizer, piano, and acoustic guitar, enlisted his longtime bandmates – Jamie Douglass (drums), Ted Russell Kamp (bass, banjo, acoustic guitar), and John Schreffler(guitars, pedal steel) – to complete the project, which was mixed by GRAMMY-winning engineer David Spreng (Smashing Pumpkins, Bob Dylan) and mastered by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Pete Lyman (Chris Stapleton, Weezer).
Weighty as the record can feel at times, it’s ultimately a work of liberation and release, an ecstatic declaration of creative freedom fueled by adventure, discovery, and a little bit of chaos, which is precisely what Sometimes Y is all about.
Jason Price founded the mighty Icon Vs. Icon more than a decade ago. Along the way, he’s assembled an amazing group of like-minded individuals to spread the word on some of the most unique people and projects on the pop culture landscape.
