Rooftop Screamers – Souvenirs ft Randy McStine (Single Review)

Innovation sometimes require tricks and quirks from the past. This correlates with how everything that is creative, in our reality, requires a single node of something that already exists in reality. In this instance, we will chance upon an act that performs their brand of innovation through synthesizing all that exists in the past- particularly, the various nodes that make up the throne of classic rock.

The artist in question is Rooftop Screamers, an innovative studio project led by Portland-based drummer and songwriter Mike Collins. Their release, Souvenirs, is a captivating track featuring renowned guitarist and vocalist Randy McStine, known for his work with the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree.

Souvenirs highlights Collins’s original songwriting, enriched by the exceptional production and engineering talents of Mark Plati. He is celebrated for his collaborations with music icons such as David Bowie, Prince, Robbie Williams, and The Cure. With his decorative repertoire, he lends his mastery to the track by contributing his skill in playing the bass, guitar, and keyboards.
Collins, previously the drummer and founding member of the critically acclaimed power pop band Throwback Suburbia, boasts an impressive musical pedigree as well. Over the years, he has collaborated with notable artists such as Cy Curnin of The Fixx, Paul Gilbert of Mr. Big, Earl Slick (David Bowie/John Lennon), and Dilana (The Voice, Rockstar Supernova), among others.

Let’s see if the track matches the star-studded showmanship behind the track.

The song definitely starts off with an interesting intersection between arpeggiation as well as the chord structure. It boasts a varied amount of emotions, showing the multidimensionality of the track. It’s filled with suspense, mystery as well as hopefulness as well. The introductory drums also help to amp the anticipation up, before the song erupts in its initial chorus sequence.

The chorus sequence definitely is brighter than the tone of the prechorus itself. It is a fairly mid-tempo song, with quite meaningful lyrics. The bass definitely sticks out more than all of the other instruments, giving the song more of a standing.

I’d say my problem with this song is merely the song structure. I think the artistic intent is very fairly and potently executed, but the song structure is really quite predictable within the world of rock. However, the wonderful mastering really does make up for the lack of musical unpredictability within the track.

This track definitely shines as a track that works cohesively, with the main leitmotifs being accentuated even more within the second chorus sequence of the song, to deliver the message to you, with a punch.

I think this song has a high potential to be relatable and understood within a large amount of people, demonstrating a high ability of musical universality. A good job, indeed.

Score/Good: Rooftop Screamers and Randy McStine join forces together with a track called ‘Souvenir’ that is decent, earnest and very well-mastered. This song has a bit of depth and mystery to it, before erupting into a chorus that I think will resonate with large swathes of consciousnesses.

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