I’m sitting at my desk sweating in whatever swamp nonsense Mother Nature has decided to lay thick in the air, but between this and the frigid air and blizzards from earlier this year, I’ll take summer. In fact, this weekend I think I’ll take myself to the beach, grab an ice-cold Diet Coke, and do some serious people-watching. There is nothing like digging your toes into the sand and surveying the common clay of the country as they choose denial over the death of the American Dream.
When I put on Todd Sentilles’ debut EP The Scenic Route Sessions, I felt like that was the soundtrack for such a day at the shore. In fact, if he were playing these tracks live, he would perk up the ears of everyone at the boardwalk bars and draw them to his catchy brand of Americana. He blends a touch of blues, a heaping helping of Southern rock, and good old-fashioned ACR into his sound, stemming from his upbringing in New Orleans and his time between Nashville and Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The new EP, Sentilles says, was “shaped by a lot of late nights, long drives, and trying to make sense of life’s lessons.” There’s not much more American of an experience than getting in the car in the wee hours, driving down some dark highway, and piecing together whatever’s jumbled up in your head. The Scenic Route Sessions is Sentilles processing recent memories through music, like he’s winding around wide turns in his mind.
All five songs on the new record touch on confusion and getting lost in some way, especially on “Runaround” and “Chasing Ghosts”. On the latter, Sentilles addresses memories of long-lost folks who keep haunting him and steering him astray. “Headstart” has Sentilles dealing with complex relationships, getting him turned around one too many times, and going nowhere good fast. “Walking Alone” – somewhat contrarily – talks about a friend who never left home to search for anything better, and found satisfaction right where they were.
Even “Gonna Be A Good Day” – with its hopeful lyrics – dabbles in wandering: Sentilles sings of pleasures that don’t make pain go away, but regardless proclaims that it’s going to be all right. For the weekend coming up, and that means friends: “The best kind of medicine”, according to Sentilles. Again, this one’s tailor-made for a crowd sing-along. I don’t doubt Sentilles has gotten pops from his audiences in Nashville whenever he plays this one. But the song surely hits different from a beach bandshell in front of a crowd of half-crunk flip-flop-wearing folks.
If you’re looking for some solid Americana from an up-and-coming songwriter to help you launch into summer, give The Scenic Route Sessions a spin. You might relate to the themes of feeling lost and needing to find community; if not, you’ll vibe to Sentilles’ crisp songwriting, and perhaps suddenly feel the need for a cold one. Take a listen to “Headstart” from The Scenic Route Sessions below.
Written by Will Sisskind
