With a proclamation boldly suggested in the title of this EP, Tom Ridgewell’s solo debut stems from a quintessential rock ’n’ roll sound. However, the EP simultaneously leans into classic conventions and defies them - packed with rich guitar jangles, chugging rhythm sections and slow, drawn-out lyricism, alongside a myriad of less traditional techniques, including the use of autotune, synthesised strings and drum machines. Twisting and contorting the decades-old traditions that bands like The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground embody, Ridgewell appears as a visionary of a type of neo rock ’n’ roll - although whether or not he does so sincerely is another question altogether. That said, as Ridgewell weaves his sound through classic rock history with his thrillingly irreverent spark, there’s a unique notion that history need not repeat itself, but instead shift and warp.

In an oxymoronic sense, Ridgewell’s delight in rock ’n’ roll is offset by his greater desire to bend the rules and mess with expectations right across Rock n Roll Heart. The fact that every song on the EP is riddled with artificial drum machine beats is one thing that might quickly frustrate the purists, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg - in fact, across each track we can hear Ridgewell purposely derailing things to see what happens. At first this is subtle and goofy - saying “alright Stevie Ray Vaughan” after a guitar solo on the title track or the eccentric final moments of ‘Nice Kiss’ are prime examples - and by the EP’s end, we’re listening to a wonky jazz instrumental, while he complains about the irrelevance of such a song on a supposed rock ’n’ roll album. It’s an absolute upheaval of what rock ’n’ roll is, while an absolute celebration of what rock ’n’ roll is supposedly about, and a hilariously intriguing listen altogether.

To unravel the chaos for us a little, we had TB Ridge share the stories behind each track.

Rock n Roll Heart

I came up with the riff one afternoon just doodling around on the acoustic as my partner was about to go to work. She said it sounded cool and I thought, “Welly well, I’ll make it a song" and by the time she got home it was. The riff was a play on a Stones groove/progression and style. I’d found I was playing with this because of an interview I saw with Genesis P-Orridge in regards to the Psychic TV song ‘God Star’ and them paying homage to Brian Jones and the 60’s counterculture. 

Lyrically I probably stemmed the idea from the interview as well but with a bent toward Lou Reed and the 70’s… It’s definitely earnest in sentiment, if I could have had a drum kit in my apartment I would have used it for this one. 

Nice Kiss

Simple single note rock riff with the tremolo chords over the chorus. The lyrics are kinda vague on this one but the general theme is about a person (perhaps middle aged) that’s trapped in a life they don’t really feel appreciated in. It came from a conversation with a friend (who is in her mid 50’s) about how she feels that women her age are perhaps invisible or underappreciated because of society’s fetishisation of youth and disregard of the value of women who maybe have been seen to have served their purpose as a mother, sexual being and worker. The idea of anyone having midlife realisations of uselessness or failure is really full on but I think a harsh reality for a lot of people. I feel my generation is very unappreciative toward the sacrifice mainly our mothers have made to get us all we have and then have the audacity to sometimes criticise and/or patronise them (wtf is with the ok boomer/ Karen thing!?). I’d be pretty pissed off if I fit in this group, but I’m the opposite to any of this at the moment haha, maybe I just like being annoyed about stuff.

Also spurred on by my love of the novels and short stories by Richard Yates and Lucia Berlin. 

The Garden

This is the first song I made for this project. It probably would be a Constant Mongrel idea if we had been able to play together again. I used a Roland 909 patch on my synth in conjunction with the ‘classic drum machine’ plug-in from garage band. It’s the darkest track musically for sure. 

The lyrics lifted from the Van Morrison track of the same name. It’s an amazing song about the spiritual reawakening of a person who was I assume really low to start. It’s one of my favourite Van tracks and the record it’s on is amazing. I’ll let you discover yourself but 80’s Van Morrison is special stuff. 

Night Light

This one is my effort at a blues scale punk song maybe. Chorus on the rhythm guitar gives it an 80’s vibe. Out of all the songs I feel like layering of guitar parts makes it complete. If I was to play it alone it would be two chords. The lyrics come from a moment when I was in bed and someone ran past our apartment (prob to just get something from the car) but made it feel like they were inside. My partner and I were spooked, we left the lamp on for the evening.

A friend said it sounded like the darker Scrotum Poles stuff, which I’m stoked about cause I think they are one of the most underrated bands ever. 

ZErrgk Stop

The song speaks for itself to be honest. The music came from listening to a podcast that broke down jazz structure. It was an exercise to see if I could do something myself. I’m no Coltrane and never will be.