William Steffey has the nicest promo materials of any package I’ve seen. Sometimes that can be a cover up for a not-so-good album, but not this time — Roadstar is an enjoyable album, with a variety of excellent songs and sounds. I like any album that can fuse electronica and rock, and this album accomplishes this seamlessly. “Ashland” combines a reggae beat, vocoder, and distorted guitars into a futuristic pop journey to Oregon. The title track is a downtempo affair with a robotic female vocal set to a groovy bassline with flourishes of trumpet and guitars. “Roadstar” returns again as the last track as well in re-mix form. The soundscapes of this record are lush; William Steffey has a real knack for combining electronic and acoustic elements into a cohesive song, a skill often lacking in other songwriters who play all the instruments on their albums.
I think if there was one word to describe this record, it would be simply “cool.” I first listened to this album while waiting for a flight at the Oakland Airport, and it provided an excellent soundtrack to watching all the people hustling here and there. In my own mental trip I imagined each track represented a different traveler on their own adventure.
-KM
