I guarantee you’ll catch the rage. It didn’t even take me a whole moment. Play_Rewind_Eject’s Pete Thompson seems to be following his own advice of enjoying the good times all the way through Back to Forward – a unique alt-rock indie release.

Quirky keyboards meet raunchy guitars and bone-crack drums and get wrapped up in vocals treated and performed with the gusto of the greats while avoiding any sort of clich’e. Every tune on this record has something that makes it stand out on it’s own, such as “Nothing in Your Way” and the almost percussionless treatment, and it’s cool synth filter in the back supporting an honest statement that seems to be a motto for the record.

It gives way to a simple acoustic strum and vocal mix that builds to a nice blend of pads, and reverby electrics, again with a simple drum and bass line, that all make an undeniable listening experience. Echos of U2, LedZeppelin and early Neil Young blend with modern treatments to make a beautiful sound all the way through the record.

I don’t know … there’s just an air of light through this thing, it’s obvious that Thompson has truly embraced the philosophical advice he offers in an interview with Middle Tennessee Music’s Joshua Smotherman:

Enjoy the moment and don’t keep chasing the dream or you’ll forget all the good things that are happening along the way. I was in a Rock band for about 10 years and a lot of the time I would think about what we hadn’t achieved rather than what we had. Looking back we were successful in our own way – we recorded in great studios, played with top bands, toured the UK twice and released music on our own record label as well as having a management deal. They are all things to be proud of which, at the time, I took for granted really and always wanted the elusive record deal. Now I’m a lot more chilled about it and enjoy building up my home studio, writing, recording and gigging.
Read more at https://www.midtnmusic.com/play-rewind-eject-interview/#1QpU5yRKoV5jbIQz.99

I’ve been jamming Back to Forward for a few days, now, and I keep trying to come up with some real fancy stuff to write about it. The trouble is, I keep getting caught up just listening, and forgetting my own thoughts…. that’s a good thing, Pete. Thanks for the record.

My advice… go buy yo’ bad seff a copy!