The Rocketboys are a four piece, indie rock outfit based in Austin, Texas made up of Josh Campbell, Brandon Kinder, Justin Wiseman and Lang Freeman. Today I will be reviewing their single ‘Viva Voce’ which was released on the 6th January 2015, as part of their EP ‘Left Right’. I think I’ll probably go on to review the EP as a whole at a later point but for now let’s talk about the song, first off the title, ‘Viva Voce’ is derived from Medieval Latin, and literally translates to ‘With the Living Voice’ and in contemporary parlance is often used in academics and politics when you are required to read something aloud.
Now I first heard this song back in early 2015 when it was featured in the hit Fox musical comedy-drama Glee during ‘Homecoming’, the second episode of season six. It was performed by the super talented Noah Guthrie, as his character Roderick Meeks. Speaking of which, Guthrie recently did a full cover of this track on his YouTube channel, which I’ll be reviewing also, and you can check that out here. Oh and while I remember check out this super rad video where The Rocketboys and Noah Guthrie perform the track together and you can check out that video here.
‘Viva Voce’ opens soft before a swell, the chords filling the silence and building, creating a rich, ambient backdrop to the vocalist’s performance. The striking keys throughout also add a lot to this song and it just immediately resonates with you deeply. I love the incorporation of the percussion, you’d think it would be antithetical to the softer, more ambient melody but it just serves to add more weight and depth to the performance. I really like the vocal work, the harmony and the balance really serve this track well, and I just cannot get the chorus out of my head. It’s just a powerful song, a counterpoint and lightness and heaviness, just a phenomenally pure and beautiful track that I haven’t been able to forget since I first heard it back in 2015.
So that’s what I thought of The Rocketboys single ‘Viva Voce’ and if you want to check that out for yourself then head on over to Spotify. While you’re at it, make sure and support the band by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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