“A Song to Get Us Through” by Rob Alexander

A little smoky but still crisp enough to define the melody of the song more than anything else possibly could have, Rob Alexander’s voice has become more than a calling card in recent years – it’s a beacon in the dark lighting us towards quality indie pop/rock few others can produce in 2021. Dr. Alexander’s latest single, the poignant and stirring “A Song to Get Us Through,” takes his vocal and puts it at the forefront of our focus, and even though it’s backed by some of the more robust instrumentation he’s ever included in a single, it still stands out as reason enough to download this hot new track before January is out. If Dream Out Loud, the album it was cut from, is a turning point for this artist, this is the record’s signature song. 

Although he’s never had any issue putting his melodic fists up against the toughest of arrangements in the past, Rob Alexander doesn’t concern himself with the intensity of the song structure so much as he does the vulnerable tone of the harmony in this single. He has a reserved attitude at first, but once the chorus comes around he seems to let go of everything and just attack the verse with an angst-free enthusiasm that I haven’t been able to hear very much of on FM radio lately. The moment he has a chance to go harder than anyone else could have in “A Song to Get Us Through,” he doesn’t just take it; he pounces like a jungle cat and tears through the barrier between himself and the fans like it’s rice paper. 

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The construction of this hook is admittedly pop-centric, but this actually allows for some amazingly indulgent instrumental lust as the chorus moves into an extended solo for the string parts later on in the song. I love how carefree Rob Alexander is throughout the entirety of this performance – he’s never echoing the beat with more of the same lyrics reshaped to counter the guitars, instead just letting his band do what every good backing band is supposed to in supporting the lead. He sounds more like frontman than he even does a solo player here, and it’s a look I want to see more of soon. 

If Rob Alexander wasn’t already on your radar, there’s not a doubt in my mind that what you hear in “A Song to Get Us Through” is going to be enough to put him there on a permanent basis in 2021. Dream Out Loud isn’t alternative per say, but it’s definitely a step towards the more liberal style of songwriting many of this singer/songwriter’s peers have been reticent to take on (mostly for fear of doing the exact opposite of what he’s done in this track). His courage is something they could absolutely learn from when approaching their own work in the future, but if we’re being real about this, no one can completely match Alexander’s personality in the studio; it’s undeniably his and his alone. 

Michael Rand