(Editor’s Note — Longtime Buffalo indie band Roger Bryan and the Orphans will be releasing their new EP tomorrow, titled ‘Days or Nights.’ The record features five new tracks and will be dropped on streaming platforms. The band is comprised of Roger Bryan on vocals and guitar, Mike Sobieraj on drums, Dave Calos on guitar and vocals, and Matt Lavin on bass. We had the privilege recently to listen to ‘Days or Nights,’ speak with Bryan about the new EP and sit with the band at their rehearsal space in Buffalo. Check out our dissection of the new record below. You can follow RBATO HERE on Bandcamp and on their Insta page. You can also catch the band live at Mohawk Place on Aug. 2 when they host their record-release show. — Band photo at bar by Lisa Bolduc; performance photos and video by Matt Smith/1120 Press)
Sitting down recently to digest the new EP by Roger Bryan and the Orphans titled ‘Days or Nights,’ we first went back and re-immersed ourselves in the group’s 2023 effort ‘That’s Life,’ which the band will include next month on a full-length vinyl release that combines the two records.
In listening, we were struck immediately: Songs like ‘Wake Up’ and ‘Control’ — which perfectly blend the sound of American rock with a penetrating indie spirit — underscore the musical craftsmanship that defines RBATO. These guys have been at it a long time and it shows — in the very best sense.
And once again, that craftmanship is on full display on ‘Days or Nights,’ which drops
tomorrow on streaming platforms.
The new EP is ragged and beautiful, driving and melodic, rooted by a rhythm section that provides the record’s heartbeat underneath searing guitar work and introspective storytelling.
Faced with the loss of someone close to you
The shadows have a way they talk
And breaking the locks
Please, please don’t let it go away
The memories, they are the blood
That keep beating your heart
—Remind Me, (from ‘Days or Nights)
The EP’s lead single, ‘Remind Me,’ is emblematic of the classic American-roots songwriting that permeates the entirety of RBATO’s new record — which features a collective sound that ranges from Springsteen to Petty, and from the Jayhawks to the Gin Blossoms.
“I think often what happens,” said Bryan, “is that I get into zones where I’m in the mood to make bigger guitar songs. And then naturally, we get into that other zone where we’re like, ‘it’s time to write a bunch of classic American rock-n-roll-style songs.’ The process just kind of constantly ebbs and flows.”
The songs on both ‘Days or Nights’ and ‘That’s Life,’ Bryan said, “were really all just part of the same soup” that came together while the world was forced into a pause by the COVID pandemic.
“During COVID, we had been working on some songs and then when we were locked down, we were passing the demos back and forth to keep busy,” Bryan recalled. “As soon as we were able to get into a studio, we started recording, and during that time I thought, ‘OK, we’re just going to do singles from now on. Whenever we have a new song, we’ll record it, put it out and keep it simple.’
“At the same time, we were working on songs that ended up being ‘That’s Life.’ We just
thought, ‘OK, we have these songs, and they are a whole different thing, so we’ll keep them together.’ But we also had all these other songs that we knew paired well together too. So, we decided to do two separate EPs. We figured we could get (That’s Life) out right away and then put the other one out down the road, which turned out to be ‘Days or Nights,’” Bryan said. “The idea of a double-sided vinyl release of both EPs together, then, just seemed really cool.”
A heavy piece of granite
How could this happen
Not how I’d have written it out I see you in the summer
Feel you in the winter
The ghost of an incredible love
—Forget to Remember (from ‘Days or Nights)
Bryan’s lyrics on ‘Days or Nights’ paint a contemplative and, at times, somber landscape. Yet, what’s striking is despite the solemnity of the EP’s subject matter, the music leaves you with a sense that everything’s going to be OK. There’s something uplifting going on here.
“The songs pretty much explore grief — the impact that grief has and the ways you kind of navigate through it, how we behave through that, and the transitions in life,” said Bryan. “But the goal is always, for anyone who hears our stuff, to pull whatever they feel out of it.”
Helping the band pull out their sound on the new EP was Buffalo’s John Angelo, who recorded, mixed and mastered ‘Days or Nights’ and with whom RBATO worked with for the first time. Also working with the band again were Marc Hunt and Michael Crow, whom Bryan called “gems.”
“We knew John from years back. He used to do sound at Mohawk Place and mastered a couple of our EPs. But we never got a chance to record with him. He’s really fast and excellent at setting up and making sure the right sound comes out of everything. But on top of that, he was really good at nudging things forward,” Bryan said. “Even simple things — if I was playing something a certain way, he would make a suggestion like: ‘Hey, how about giving it a little bit more of this…’ I feel like while we were recording, his brain was always jumping ahead to what the mix was going to be. So, he had a really good feel for what would translate better on the mix. He’s great. He’s very helpful in terms of making sure you get the right sound. I think he’s brilliant.”
One of these days
I might come through
One of these days or nights
I’ll come through for you
—One of These Days (from ‘Days or Nights’)
Roger Bryan and the Orphans do exactly that on their new EP: they come through for us — with a batch of excellent songs that serve as Exhibit A as to why we should all be excited about what’s happening these days on Buffalo’s scene.
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