There’s nothing like a perfect road trip album; something that complements the scenery as it whizzes by while you glance back at it in the rearview mirror. The act of being the road trip DJ is no small task, and only the quickest can maintain a great playlist without losing the crowd — it seems silly, but if you’ve traveled for over eight hours with a car full of kids, you know there’s nothing silly about this.
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The road trip DJ is a hero! Thankfully, every once in a while, a great project comes along that you can add straight into the queue with no modifications; think Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse for the flatland atmosphere, Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited for the sprawling tracklist and obvious reasons, and… the Cars soundtrack for its inclusion of “Life Is A Highway” by Rascal Flatts (traveling with a car full of kids, remember?) Well, a new artist has just popped up on my musical radar and if his debut EP is anything to go off of, Jon Pozzuto has just earned himself a spot in the mainstay of all-timer road trip playlists.
Pozzuto’s Valley of Empty Cities is a brief yet powerful EP that contains a mere four-song tracklisting. This might seem like a scant amount of songs to some, and you’d be more than right to feel that way — if each song didn’t function as a total knockout punch. Four of these in a row and people start to take notice. Opening with “Dead End Train,” Pozzuto’s signature style of southern punk immediately makes itself known.
The east coast sensibilities from Pozzuto’s upbringing in a variety of NYC clubs clash in the best ways with the country-rock aesthetic on display for Valley of Lost Cities, and the Venn diagram of sounds and cultures is just crazy enough to work. “Love and Death” comes next and gives listeners a slightly less outwardly aggressive piece of Pozzuto’s psyche to dance with. Doubling it with “Cemetery Grove” gives the EP a really solid emotional core that features incendiary guitar work as well as exceptional production work. In my opinion, Pozzuto saves the best for last with the title track “Valley of Empty Cities” arriving to close out the EP.
Cynically biting lyrics remark on what synthetic replacements stand in the place of things that used to be full of life and the instrumental brings together the sensitive harmonies and the punk exterior.
There’s a lot to get out of Valley of Empty Cities both as an invested fan and a casual listener, and only time will tell whether or not Jon Pozzuto stays with this sound but as it stands, this will undoubtedly become a landmark project within his discography and a memorable EP for anyone that listens to it. It’s not every day you find the love child of The Ramones and Johnny Cash, but when you do, you’re bound to remember it. Valley of Empty Cities is an EP best suited on repeat for long drives, but it can match the energy even during the commute to work. Give the project a listen and stay tuned to see what else Jon Pozzuto has up his sleeve!
Chadwick Easton