FM Rodeo Wrote You The Perfect Pop Song

Photo courtesy of FM Rodeo

On a balmy central Texas night, UK Brit-pop and SoCal pop-punk had a little casual fun together and gave us FM Rodeo. The trio, made up of lead singer and guitarist Troy Dry, bassist Dean Willeford, and drummer Johnny Elrod, has pieced together two of the most influential music scenes of the ‘90s. The result is an undeniably catchy Frankenstein of clever guitar riffs, earnest lyrics, and ragged drum fills. FM Rodeo has been busy this year with two singles, “Self-Titled National Anthem” and “Live Electric,” out already and a third, “Pop Song (Disaster),” released just last night. 

While all three singles stay true to the band’s trans-Atlantic crossover sound, “Pop Song” doubles down on the late ‘90s alt-punk sensibility. The song opens with dueling guitar riffs that give way to hard-packed drums and driving basslines that wrap nicely around Dry’s melodic vocals. Lyrics like “What if I was to say, you were the love I never had” don’t stray far from the formula, but it’d be an unnecessary distraction if they did. FM Rodeo set out to release the perfect pop-punk song for your sweaty summer nights. Those shoe-gazing, southern overachievers sure as heck did.