For a song whose impetus was to poke the current EDM trend, Just Walden’s “Romie Knows” ends up saying something substantial, both musically and lyrically.
The Austin quartet is centered around Danny Ferraro’s classically informed piano playing which brings an incredibly unique flavor to this song. The keys are pounded fast and furious, surrounded in a haze of BPMs and measured guitar lines that ground the track’s inexhaustible rhythm.
You can almost envision the bands candid banter about the trending popularity of EDM, inspiring the drummer to launch into the double-time beat. The rest of the gang joins in and there you have it; an awe-inspiring hybrid of indie piano rock and dance music.
As the lyrics filter through the mix, one can’t help but attempt to put together the rest of the story… there is a girl, Romie, who apparently “knows what the new kids are doing.” This could take on multiple meanings such as the youthful gravitation towards partying, the explosive boom of Electric Daisy-goers, or simply the imbibing of cutting edge drugs that enhance any kind of musical night life excursion.
Luckily, our narrator is not much of a party animal, preferring to stay away from the popular crowd so he can think for himself. As the refrain so eloquently points out “I don’t know what the hell you’re on, I just want to stay for one more song.”
Just Walden’s debut album High Street Barton Blues is an incredibly assured work that is pulled of wonderfully by all four musicians. A soul-searching experience that echoes the sentiments of Henry David Thoreau (another free-thinker) while musically falling somewhere between Suuns and Future Islands.
