While I haven’t lived in Wisconsin for nearly seven years, the demons, nightmares, and occasional bouts of fun that come with living in the Midwest are always with me. Those various “feels” often come out when I tune into Milwaukee, WI trio Soda Road. The group, made up of former Sat Nite Duets guitarist Stephen Strupp (also vocals and various instruments), Graham Hunt (bass), and Sam Reitman (drums), have two previous releases, 2014’s Danke Für Das Gilt and 2018’s Varsity of Winter. Those albums form a ying and yang of sorts: the former perfectly captures the lazy, somewhat time-wasting moments of summer, when a perfect afternoon involves swilling brews at a park, watching a Billy Joel cover band; the latter covers the relentlessly bleak winters, full of Polar Vortexes, partying too late and forgetting your dad is visiting the next day, and several instances where you find you haven’t left your house in nearly a week.
The trio’s latest, Arms/Station Wagon, is a brief three-song release that both rocks and rolls (it also features guest vocals by Elisabeth Gasparka and Sarah Luther of Warhola Cats). “Get mad about something,” Strupp sings, and I can’t help but think of many things I should be getting mad about: the insanity of office life, being over 30 and now grocery store cashiers call me “Sir,” and a list that could go on and on, my friends. Instead of my griping, scroll down and stream this rockin’ set. Hey, it was 80 degrees by me this weekend. What better way to embrace summer than with some breezy pop/rock tunes. Jam on!
More about: Soda Road
