Roy Peak - Exile in Americana (2024)

Punk Infused Story Led Americana, Straight Outta Jacksonville. Roy Peak? What can I say? He’s a friend and our longest serving reviewer, one who cuts through the music in a way I can only dream of doing. He’s also an extraordinary musician, but not one whose albums you will ever find in HMV stores in Mansfield, Ottawa or Chattanooga … he’s an underground legend in my eyes, and one that deserves your attention and that of your friends too.

As he says in his bio, he started out in Punk Rock bands and subsequently financial necessity has meant he’s played in just about every genre known to man ever since, which brings us to his latest release.

Without being a dreaded ‘concept album’ Roy started the project because In 1993 Liz Phair released her debut album, Exile in Guyville, as a “song by song reply” to the Rolling Stones classic album Exile on Main Street… and this is his response to Liz 30 years later!
The first time I played its opening track Biting Off More Than I Can Chew it baffled me, as it starts with some angsty acoustic guitar and then kicks up the gears turning into a growly Punk song, albeit with lyrics you can hear and even decipher and wouldn’t have been outta place in CBGB’s back in the day.

This is followed by the more bouncy Bad Luck Girl, while still punky in essence, Roy seems to be channelling Transformer era Lou Reed on this intense tale of unrequited love.

“What kinda girl was she you say?
Well, what kinda girl still turns your head?
What kinda girl makes you sleep with one eye open?
What kinda girl is that?
Gotta be a bad luck girl!”

Just when I thought I knew where the album was going Roy throws a curve ball on track #3 Mercurochrome which is still angsty, razor sharp and slightly psychedelic but acoustic and rather wonderful.
I haven’t played Exile On Main Street this century and I’ve never heard Liz Phair’s album so coming in at 19 songs long, I’m not doing a compare and contrast … just soaking up Roy’s wonderful songs for your delectation.

When played from start to finish this is something of an emotional roller-coaster, full of love songs, break ups, anti-love songs and of course unrequited love songs … where would popular music be without unrequited love?

While coming at you like a straight up Rocker Dude, Roy also has a playful side which comes out in a couple of songs here, especially The Ballad of the Legendary Elvis Kabong

“Well, it’s punk rock in the summertime
Americana in the fall
You can call it what you want
It’s all the same damn song
And you can put on your mask and sing along
With Elvis Kabong.”

As usual, the first time I played the album was in the car, where I can listen with no distractions and a couple of songs jumped straight out at me, the tongue in cheek Three Chord Criminal and Glimmer spring to mind, and when I’ve done that subsequently it’s been the Twangtastic The Fisher King and the oddity All the Birds of Carmelita which has hints of Guy Clark and even John Lennon if he’d ever tried to write an Americana poem.
Tucked away where you’d least expect it is the single Waiting For The Rain, is it to be taken literally or is it a nod to the state of the political climate these days or a metaphorical love song? I don’t know … but it could be all three.

Yet when I’ve had this playing while I’ve been reading the vividly detailed Your Storm and Our Language of Love made me lose my place on the page at different times, as I got lost in Roy’s world for a few minutes … and that’s easier than you’d think.

After 18 self-penned songs the album closes with a Neil Young influenced (?) ‘thank you’ to Liz Phair; a fabulous version of her Never Said from the album that kick-started this project.
Of course, this is an album that begs to be actually ‘listened to’ in chronological order, but there are some really special songs here that deserve individual recognition …. making two punchy and emotional acoustic songs So Alone and With Sorrow my official Joint Favourites.
I’ve always liked and appreciated Roy Peak’s left of centre approach to his albums and that’s still the case here, but there’s a centrist and even ‘commercial’ approach this time, meaning if there really is a God in Heaven this could be a game changer and RMHQ could lose one of its best reviewers.