LA Musique Reviews Stone Senate's Dawn EP

“You can tell that Stone Senate work hard touring to showcase their music to new listeners, but there is also a natural quality within their music that keeps you engaged.”

Southern rock band Stone Senate have returned this year with more music after widening their audience with incessant touring and consistent singles. Today they released their EP ‘Dawn’, a follow up to their 2021 EP ‘Dusk’.

‘Dawn’ begins with ‘Dead and the Dying’ a song possessing an opening instrumental that reflects the imagery of the EP’s cover. And then the rock sets in, accompanying the vocals and lyricism perfectly. ‘And from where I stand I can see the end, like a hurricane going through my mind’, sings lead vocalist/guitarist Clint Woolsey, repeating at the chorus for metaphorical effect.

‘Fall Back Into You’ may have more mellow verses to begin with, but the chorus reaches the rock heights that ‘Dead and the Dying’ did. The songs may be in the same realm, but they both bring something different to the EP. On the next track ‘Good to Go’ I can feel both the breeze and warmth of the southern scene, and it feels like they are embracing their genre as well as their roots. Vocals are remarkably strong here, too.

And on ‘Days’ I feel imagery once again, involving nature and in particular the weather. With many mentions of the ‘rainy season’ and the line ‘I had the most beautiful view from here’, the song sets the scene but calls attention to the emotional side of the song as well. ‘Shine’ is the head-bopping single of ‘Dawn’, and right from the intro we know this is going to have an incredible upbeat melody. The vocals are clear, but have an edge to them, and come alongside many lyrics to analyse.

‘Dawn’ ends on a more acoustic note, with some shades of rock, with ‘Almost Never Fades’. The song consist of an amazing instrumental, conducting a great melody that hits you right in the heart. This conjures nostalgia, also helped by the emotional emphasis put on lyrics vocally. Woolsey says of the process of making the tune: “The song began with a really pretty riff, which became the verse, and then piece by piece, “Always Never Fades” was composed.”

You can listen to the EP here: