“If it ain’t broke, it can’t be fixed / It takes two oars to row / ‘Whitewash works as good as paint’ / Sayin’ don’t make it so” sings Russ Still beside the steady play of his band the Moonshiners in their new single “That Right There,” these words capturing the spirit of the blue-collar country anthem as well as any in the entirety of the song could. In this most recent offering, Still is doing his part to crush a broadening hybrid aesthetic in indie country with a style of old fashioned southern crooning I think many will find quite alluring this fall.
RUSS STILL: https://www.facebook.com/russell.still.16
THE BAND: https://russstill.com/the-band/
The beats created by the percussion are imparting as much of a mood in the music as any of the verses are, and when taking into account just how lyrically-focused this track is in comparison to “It Ain’t Me” or “Cancun,” two of the other songs Still cut with the Moonshiners in 2020 prior to this one, that’s really saying something about the weight of the drums. I think it’s important for this act to put as much texture into a single as possible; otherwise, if this weren’t the case, I don’t know that even the most subtle elements of their sound (such as the bassline) would translate with as much of a punch as they do in songs like this.
As far as the production quality is concerned, “That Right There” is absolutely the most radio-ready look Russ Still and the Moonshiners have had since the debut of their very first album. They’ve polished some of their rougher edges enormously in the last few years, and while similar artists would have taken this opportunity to move in a more surreal creative direction – in line with the folk and alternative Americana movements in the United States at the moment – they’re using this release as a means of reaffirming who they are both in and outside of the studio.
There’s an optimism to the tone of Russ Still’s performance as the lead vocalist in this song that bleeds directly into the narrative and impacts how I read it from a fan perspective, but I don’t think anyone should rush to deem this component of the harmony a shortcoming on the performers’ parts. On the contrary, it tells me something about the skillset this singer and songwriter has when he’s connected with the lyricism as much as he is in this instance, which will definitely aid in securing much of the mainstream attention he’s yet to win in his career thus far.
I didn’t know much about Russ Still and the Moonshiners before getting turned on to “Cancun” earlier on in 2020 and finding myself reinvigorated about his style of play thanks to “That Right There,” but I think they’re going to do some amazing work together if they remain on this present path. “That Right There” isn’t necessarily a watershed moment for the country music world in general, but I don’t see why it can’t be the single to segue its singer from the shadows of the underground to the bright lights of a mainstream stage.
Troy Johnston