The Rocketz – “Wither”

The Rocketz – “Wither” – Single Review

I mean…at the end of the day, you’d kinda have to be a stone-hearted A-hole to put up a fight against the sweet sentiment put forth in a single like this…and I’m just trying to figure out if I should volunteer to be that guy – I think that I might have to be.

Because look…there ARE things to like about this tune by The Rocketz…I’m not disputing that.  Are they doing enough to really stand out from the rest of the pack with a song I’d readily describe as a decent tune?  That might be more in question.  There’s part of me that feels like I’d remember this song still in six months…but I tend to have a longer memory when it comes to music than most people do…in which case, the shelf-life of this cut could very well be a whole lot shorter for the rest of the folks out there.  I never claim to be the only opinion that matters, and I only ever have the music I tend to be listening to for a very short fragment of time…so feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt, or consider it if ya like – that part’s always up to you, and completely outta my control once I put these words on the net.

First of all – what’s wrong with a “decent tune” to begin with?  Absolutely nothing when it comes right down to it, and I’d be among the people out there that would happily tell you that a solid, flawless cut, is truly no small accomplishment and generally something to still be massively proud of.  Not every song or thing we’re going to write is going to fully recreate the wheel, nor should it be the goal of every person, artist, or band that ends up writing something – in fact, most of what we create is generally lost into the void over time – myself included.  The reality is The Rocketz have a pleasant vibe, a good song on their hands, and clearly sweet intentions in creating it…I mean, heck…it might even be a tune that’s written specifically with an audience of ONE special person in mind, so the rest of us are kind of lucky to even be hearing it at all when it comes right down to it.  “Wither” is a fairly guaranteed good time, however fleeting that good time might be…it’s on the positive side of sound, and all that’s genuinely great stuff.

But I suppose this is where I point out where the nice guys tend to finish…and how the place they end up in, is essentially just as true in music & the same much more often than not…

For as much as I’ve heard it, I’m still not entirely sure what I’d consider the real standout element of this song to be & that’s a bit of a concern.  I like the “oh-oh-oh-ohs…” but I don’t know if that’s what a band is necessarily going to want to be the most memorable part in the writing or performance, you feel me?  I think the bridge is probably the part I’m leaning towards when it comes to what I like most in the melody…but yep, here we are once again…I’m not exactly sure how many people tune into a song for the bridge, you dig?  Lyrically, it’s sweet…and I admire that…I think the main use of the word “Wither” works cleverly, and that I can get behind…the rest…I don’t know that The Rocketz are saying too much that we haven’t heard from some lovesick person out there in the world at some point in time already.  There’s one part of the drums I really like when you can hear the tapping on the rim (I think?  Wood rim?  Stick hits maybe?) – it’s a real clean tap and it only shows up for brief moments…so that’s probably not gonna be the ‘standout element’ for anyone either, though I do appreciate the extra details a part like that can bring to a song overall.  The guitars…probably the best musical hooks to be found there within the chorus, but for the rest of this track, we’ve got large portions of this single that don’t even have any guitars at all and end up leavin’ the ol’ rhythm section to do the rest of the work.  Then there’s the bass, which is…undeniably well-played, and absolutely probably the part of this song that drives me the most nuts – I’d tell ya it’s got a bit too much of a presence in this tune for how…yikes…’normal’ it seems to be.  The vocals work out pretty well – the melody’s on-point, the tone is there, the energy is too…and for what it’s worth, I think that the most is made of the material here overall…”Wither” just ain’t all that unique is all…and it’s really going to be up to The Rocketz to decide how big of a deal that really is or isn’t to them.  If they wanna tell me to pound sand for everything I’ve said here, I’ll get to poundin’ right quick…I’m not here to pump tires needlessly…I just call it like I hear it.  “Wither” is a solid example of a good tune, but I can’t really hear anything in here that would make it a great one – that all make sense?

They hold their own in the performance here…to me, it’s just about challenging themselves to get a bit more out of the material they’re making, and finding that reason that’s gonna make us come back again.  From about 3:46 to 4:03, I’m more onboard than I am at any other point in this tune…lyrically I think it still needs a bit more meat on the bone, but right there in the bridge, they do tap into something that’s audibly just a little more special than the rest, and it stands out that much more as a result.  That is also seventeen seconds of a song we’re talkin’ about…and this cut is five minutes & twenty seconds long – so that’d be another concern…I’m not quite sure that the math completely adds up in their favor in terms of what might be memorable on “Wither” overall.  Maybe you’ll feel differently – and if you do, right on.

Find out more about The Rocketz at their official website at:  https://therocketzband.com

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