This summer, Opus Kink released their debut album The Sweet Goodbye. Today, they've returned with a new single, "Low Roader," which is a fucking ripper. The track takes the traditional Scottish folk song "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" — you know, the one that goes "O ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road" — and folds it into something entirely its own.
The original is a gut-wrenching tune about lovers separated by death, but "Low Roader" takes a considerably less solemn approach. There's a menacing pace to the track, with a bit of swagger creeping into the chorus. The saxophones circle overhead like stalking birds of prey, while surf-rock guitars add another layer of grit.
It's an addictive listen that lands somewhere between ska-punk and jazzy rockabilly. "Low Roader" is a song concerning complacency, ignorance and historical amnesia. The verse melody is appropriated from the traditional Scottish song "Loch Lomond." The "low road" is the fairy route by which the dead travel back to their home country.
It’s already at your door.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
