| Format: | LP |
| Availability: | In stock |
Jeffrey Silverstein’s new EP Roseway is named after the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood in Northeast Portland where the guitarist and songwriter lives. “My drive home from my teaching job is all uphill,” he says. “You kind of crest over this ridge to get to where you want to go. Every moment that happens to me, I just have this sense of ease once I get to the top.” That sense of relief–the feeling of completing a tough journey—animates the six relaxed and meditative songs here. While half of the tracks are pastoral ambient instrumentals and half are plainspoken lyrical numbers with ample twang and groove, each captures Silverstein’s striking comfort with his voice, his process, and his role as a bandleader. To him, these songs feel like home. It’s New Age for the everyman: more cosmic than country and more accessible than esoteric. This is what cosmic country sounds like in 2024.
This EP picks up where his artistic breakthrough and 2023 full-length Western Sky Music left off. A reinvention for Silverstein that traded homespun solo recordings for an expansive full-band sound, the LP was acclaimed by outlets like Aquarium Drunkard and The Portland Mercury, who praised its, “cosmic country and shimmering Americana that feels like a significant step forward from his previous work.” On Roseway, he reunites with his Western Sky Music rhythm section in drummer Dana Buoy (Akron/Family) and bassist Alex Chapman and enlists pedal steel player Connor Gallaher (Anna St. Louis, Lana Del Rey) to flesh out the songs. “I always view EPs as moments to try things and experiment,” says Silverstein. “Building this trust and communication with Alex and Dana has made for a wonderful partnership and helped me take risks I normally wouldn’t.”
Recorded with Ryan Oxford (Y La Bamba, Rose City Band), Roseway boasts an eclectic and exploratory palate. Songs like the inviting and laid-back “Gassed Up” find Silverstein adding country-funk grooves over inviting, spaced-out lyrics. Atop a buoyant bass line from Chapman, Silverstein sings, “You’re gassed up / You gotta go / You’re not lonely / You’re just Alone.” It recalls JJ Cale at his swampiest. “I’m always thinking about how you can incorporate more of a boogie and groove with the twang,” says Silverstein. Even at its twangiest, Roseway never feels like a throwback or a retread. Instead, it pushes these signifiers into headier territory. Take the instrumental “Headcleaner,” which takes on a krautrock-inspired haze. Elsewhere, single “Cog In the Wheel” takes on a nomadic search for good vibes. He sings, “I’ve been cruisin’ / such a long time / Never want to settle down.” That track is a balm that feels like getting closer to a destination.
The vinyl version of Roseway features a b-side that includes the first pressing of Silverstein’s 2021 EP Torii Gates. “That kind of makes this a split release with myself,” he jokes. The pairing is intentional and important, however. Also recorded with Oxford and featured Chapman on bass, that release found Silverstein beginning to branch out from solo fare to a full band. Here, much of the material is anchored by a drum machine: It was an exercise in appreciating small moments and being comfortable with transitional periods. While the songs are cozy, hypnotic, and compelling, there’s a tension in how they feel like the starting point to a reinvention. On highlight “Soft Lens,” he sings, "Stuck outside the Torii Gates / tired of hearing you have to wait." When he wrote that song, that gate was a metaphor for his own musical journey.
Taken together, these two EPs feel like a bridge to each other: a document of an artist cresting the hill of his process and vision. It’s a record of contemplation and comfort, not of prescription and platitudes. Roseway opens with the raw and ramshackle “Countryside,” which finds Silverstein singing, “If there’s a gate / I’m passing through / If there’s a light / It’s shining blue.” The line is both the North Star of Roseway and a testament to how far Silverstein has come threading disparate worlds and finding his voice. “I’ve learned to be cool with things not working and failing and loving all of that,” he says. “It’s all about accepting that part of the process. I love imperfect music. I love songs where you hear the wrong notes. I don't want to muddy anything up too much and get out of my way.”
