If you're looking for something to listen to and enjoy the band Remo Drive you're in the right place. Erik Paulson does more than guitar and vocals for Remo Drive, he also works behind the scenes. He has been producing albums for many other bands: recording, mixing and engineering their songs along with his own. Bellow are seven songs I've chosen from albums he's worked on that you should appreciate if you listen to Remo Drive.
1. "Light Up Shoes" — Hey, Doctor
Hey, Doctor is a Minnesota band comprised of Paulson and Billy Gleason. The song "Light Up Shoes" opens slowly with a guitar and vocals before erupting into a strong grunge garage band sound. Its lyrics combine the idea of death with light up shoes which hold a connotation to childhood. Gleason sings, "light up shoes I can fly, hold me tight and I won't cry, light up shoes take me further away, running to my resting place."
2. "Acne" — Heart To Gold
Heart To Gold is a band from Minnesota who just "really like dogs," according to Bandcamp, and the album art for their new album "COMP" reflects this. One reason why I love their song "Acne" is that it starts out with the Vine: "You know what, I'm about to say it, I don't care that you broke your elbow." This song also satisfies both the laid-back melodies of indie music and the screaming vocals of hardcore music all at once.
3. "Still Stuck" — Heart To Gold
"Still Stuck" is from Heart To Gold's EP of the same name. It's a very dense sounding song with throaty vocals and distorted guitar. The song "Still Stuck" also has the same vibes as Remo Drive's pre-"Greatest Hits" music, particularly the songs off their EP "Demos 2014" so if you enjoy that sound you'll like Heart To Gold.
4. "Coffee" — Half Mannequin
Half Mannequin is "a place for my [Paulson's] solo music to live," according to Bandcamp. The song "Coffee" along with all of Half Mannequin's music is not what one usually associates with his work in Remo Drive. "Coffee" has a calm, laid-back sound with Paulson's voice at the forefront with a guitar and a simple drum track taking the backseat.
5. "Tape" — Focus Ring
Focus Ring is another one of Paulson's solo projects. The song "Tape" is very transparent. With only his soft voice and an acoustic guitar, there is no hiding behind distorted buzzy electric guitars and drums. While his songs from this album titled "Introduction" stay soft, his voice has it's moments where the rough voice that we know from his other work comes out. Although if you're looking for something more angry and fast paced I'd suggest the song "Shaky Hands" off the same album.
6. "Mint" — Gramma
Off of Gramma's self-titled album comes the song "Mint." It's filled with simplistic, repetitive melodies and lyrics that work to build their dirty punk sound.
7. "The Worst Headache In Years" — Gramma
Gramma's song "The Worst Headache In Years" may only be a little less than three minutes long but they packed a lot into those few minutes. It starts with a powerful intro that fades to a single buzzy guitar that then leads to dense angry vocals and open cymbal. Then there's a soft section where the drums quiet down and the guitar is used sparingly in addition to smooth background vocals to highlight the clear change before a snare drum comes in and the song is built up until fading out at the end.
