Every week, Milwaukee Music Premiere connects the city’s artists with our listening audience. If you’re an artist with a track you’d like us to debut exclusively on Radio Milwaukee, head over to our Music Submission page to learn how.
A lot of artists talk about being inspired by this or influenced by that. And, sure, you’ll hear elements of those things in a song or album to varying degrees. But, every once in a while, you’ll hear something so on the nose that it picks you up and plops you right in the middle of whatever (or whenever) fueled their creativity.
So it goes with “She Rides On,” a Milwaukee Music Premiere for a band that’s sort of getting a premiere themselves.
The psych-rock trio of Kevin Topel, Sean Anderson and Joe Wilinski have been kicking around the city’s scene in groups like The Delta Routine, NEWSKI, The Cavewives and Yum Yum Cult. In the nascent stages of 2024, they decided to throw in together and share their spin on classic ’60s psych rock. I’d argue, however, that this debut single isn’t a spin. It just sits down squarely on that vibe and makes you feel like you’ve tuned into a decade-spanning frequency.
You could slide “She Rides On” right into one of those Time Life Sounds of the Sixties compilations and not blink a bit when it comes up in the playlist. There’s a “we’re going on a quest” feeling that runs throughout, from the galloping acoustic guitar intro to the rat-a-tat bridge toward the end. And it only took eight years to make.
“I wrote the song back in 2016 based on fragmentary song lyrics my friend Charlie Mead sent me,” Topel shared with us. “I recorded several solo versions of it, only to table it because I didn’t feel satisfied with how any of the versions turned out. The song has mythical lyrics and needed uplifting and driving music that reflected the ‘quest’ theme.”
Mission accomplished, Kevin (and Sean and Joe). Listening to the track made me feel like I was watching the 1970s anime version of The Hobbit again, with lyrics as fantastical as that trippy Tolkien adaptation.
The beauty and pain of the past
Are left to smolder behind her
As she rides on
The white wings of dawn
Consider them forgotten lands
Their faces left to be re-sewn
By severed hands
Forgotten lands
Feel free to take up your sword, saddle your steed and spin this adventurous single using the player at the top of the page. You can also hear it on 88Nine today at 7:30 and 11:30 a.m.; and 3:30, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. “She Rides On” will hit streaming services and Bandcamp this Friday — the same day Wisconsin Space Program shares it live on stage at Enlightened Brewing Company. That show with Shells Bells gets rolling at 6 p.m.
