DownTown Mystic’s “Mystic Highway” Is Fully Revved Up Classic Rock N’ Roll With Modern Bite

Isn’t it great when artists add their own flair to classic, timeless sounds? Like they’re not trying so hard to be different, but they also don’t settle for some kind of carbon-copy of the past. DownTown Mystic knows how to do it right with the EP “Mystic Highway”.

DownTown Mystic is the alter ego of American Rocker, Robert Allen, joined by seasoned musicians, including drummer extraordinaire Steve Holley (Paul McCartney/Wings/Elton John/Ian Hunter) & Paul Page (Dion/Ian Hunter) on bass, as well as Max Weinberg & Garry Tallent of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Now, they step on the stage to bring rock n’ roll into the 21st century with a touch of attitude and groove that’s exactly theirs.

The EP welcomes you with History, released in 2011 and remastered by Leon Zervos this year. The guitars from the opening will immediately tell you you’re in for some classic, groovy rock that gives off Friday nights in a roadhouse bar filled with grease, cigarette smoke, and beers. Lyrically, this is the birth of rock and its history in sound, the kind that goes beyond narration and straight up pulls you into the era and dares you to “step into the future and make a little history.”

Modern Ways kicks the door open like it has snapped against scams, email pop-ups, and endless calls. Its fast percussion hits and driving guitars are enough to shake off the weight of modern chaos. But the best part is despite the exhaustion, they don’t lose their grin and attitude. They’re grooving over stress, there’s rhythmic punch beneath agitation, all for those who have been restless and overloaded from modern ways of living.

Read The Signs follow with a reflective atmosphere. But despite its laid-back guitars and percussion, there’s a brooding tension underneath, like life and future just suddenly hit them at full speed. The vocals carry a pinch of weariness without dwelling too much in darkness and despair, inviting you to face the truth they’ve been crooning about, “the future is here, read the signs.” Lost and Found rings in the same reflective tone except it’s much more lively in hopes to keep you moving. The EP then ends with a punchy statement from Somebody’s Always Doin’ Something To Somebody.

One thing about this Mystic Highway is you’ll get the jagged edges of Buffalo Springfield and Rockpile, that old-school rock without ever losing to nostalgia alone. They honor rock’s golden era with a lived-in honesty, not from the past but from musicians who have experienced life enough to make familiar feel new and fresh. DownTown Mystic gives you rock with depth and meaning, like pieces of life turned into something audibly real. This is rock n’ roll that honors the classic roots with modern day pulse, grit, and attitude.