Out of the dark comes the production house, See Your Shadow with their latest single, “Showdown”. It’s a rough and tumble rock tune that’s all about punching up against the ones who look down on you and standing your ground in the face of adversity. It’s a fascinating take, and one that we’ll be taking a closer look at in the review.
From the first note, “Showdown” impresses with a killer guitar riff that instantly grabs your attention and simply refuses to let go. A dangerous atmosphere gets established pretty quickly, as more guitars fill the background with more catchy hooks, as See Your Shadow get down to business showing us just what the song’s about.
The strongest aspect of the single has to be See Your Shadow’s creative blend of folk and rock elements with strong vocal performances. Michael “The Metropolitan Cowboy” Coleman and J. Richard Murray have always had a solid grasp on the fundamentals of their musical style, and the result is an extremely fun frolicking battle theme in “Showdown”.
Keeping the song moving at a steady pace are the background drums, slowly building up to the triumphant chorus with the instruments blazing in the background. It’s a surprisingly simple song when boiled down to its basic elements, but it’s upbeat and strong enough to carry itself just fine with its simplicity. Most importantly however, See Your Shadow are clearly having a lot of fun with “Showdown”.
This extends over to the lyrical songwriting, which isn’t nothing to really write home about. What does make the song work with these simple lyrics is delivery, absolutely dripping with the swagger, bravado and confidence. It’s what transforms a simply playground fight into a grand battle for the ages, and it continues just how fun the song is.
“Showdown” may not reinvent the rock or country wheels, but it doesn’t really need to. It’s an uproariously good time, showcasing the strengths of See Your Shadow as performers. We recommend listeners give it a go if you’re looking to have a good time listening to some fun music.
–Jason Airy
