ROB MAYES

                                                              "I Miss That Truck" 

                                                               HogCity

With the acting side of his entertainment career in full bloom, Rob Mayes has spent the past few years passionately pouring into his blossoming music career, willing to soak in the learning experience that comes with each co-write to allow himself to continually release stronger and stronger material, stacking his resume with songs you need to hear such as “Without You,” “Ain’t Nothin’ To See Here,” or his latest, “I Miss That Truck.”

On what is arguably the most sleek, modern Top 40 sound we’ve heard from Rob thus far, the mid-tempo, pop laden backbeat that laces the instrumentation through the verses is not only immediately attractive to the ear, but is the perfect subtle accompaniment to the signature feels that are wrapped within his vocals as the welcoming tonality of them engulfs the nostalgic journey of the one who got away that he takes us on.

Talking first about the truck itself, Mayes sets the entire story in motion in the opening verse when he says that his pop tossed him the keys to it and encouraged him, “got some miles and memories on it, go on and make some more,” which he aptly honors as he innocently sings us through picture painting moments with his back then girlfriend, such as getting his first back road buzz from her being next to him on the bench seat.

The song takes a depth-filled turn though in the chorus when he comparatively sings of both the truck and their up and down relationship, admitting “that summer put a hurt on us, it broke down more times than we broke up,” adding heartstring tugs that sees him lamenting in the bridge that he’d pay double now to get back behind the wheel one more time to try and recapture those fond memories if he only could.

The fusion of this ultra-modern style matches up perfectly to suit the lyric and Mayes’ incredible ability within his vocal prowess to hit the feels just right so that the combination of everything working together expertly pulls out our own memories as we listen to him running through his to give “I Miss That Truck” an endearingly heartfelt connection with the listener; a perfectly blended recipe to creating a hit song!

Truth is, we all have something that sparks a fond memory for us - a hand me down F150 in this case - which will almost always invoke an initial thought that then sends us down a rabbit hole full of smiles as we reminisce on the good times while waxing nostalgic. “I Miss That Truck” assumes its role of now being that something to ignite the spark that starts us on our way back, reminiscing journey the moment we hit play.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)