THE ROLLERS

                                                                "Step Aside" 

                                                                MagicShack Productions

Jason and Kalii Roller, the husband/wife duo simply known as The Rollers, have been carving out their niche around Nashville over the past year by playing several high-profile gigs between Jason’s time spent as a sought-after session player and his travels on the road playing with the legendary country group Alabama.

Teasing their forthcoming bluegrass project during these shows, The Rollers have always attracted a great crowd with a listening ear to several heartfelt songs including (among others) “What You Do To Me” and “Broken Promises and an Empty Glass”; all which showcase the proper emotional tug and deliver the aspects that have become the duo’s signatures; solid lyrics, incredible harmonies, and amazing musicianship that carries you along the melody as their voices wrap around you.

With “Step Aside,” the lead single from their new project, the duo takes a left turn away from their natural slower pace to unravel another layer of who they are with an amped up, modern bluegrass barn burner that’s best described by a post on their social media that simply reads, “This song is for every girl who has ever had to tell someone to step off her man!”

Co-written by Jason, Kalii, and Billy Droze, the plucking of banjo from the incredible Justin Moses slams into the whine of Jason’s fiddle to push you into the toe-tapping rhythm as Kalii’s vocal than pulls you into the song.

She instantly sets the pace throughout the opening verse by singing straight at the girl who’s heavily flirting with her man with lines such as “you can try and you can try” and “you can beg and you can plead,” both done in such ways that they lead straight into the point that the girl doesn’t stand a chance of getting him away from her; outlining the reasons why through lines that sing about how she’s been by his side through all the highs and lows, that she’ll never quit him, etc.

She further reiterates this point in the second verse by singing of how he’s not wanting the poison on her lips, but then kicks the “back off my man” energy up a notch when she declares that while she’s not mad at all the flirting, if she’s looking for a fight then she’s got one.

The back and forth of the male and female views in the chorus, including Jason’s only two vocal lines of the song which stamp home the point that he’s staying right by his girl’s side, help to add an all-around perspective to the lyric, while the instrumental breakdown between the second and final chorus allows the crisp musicianship (all provided by Jason except the banjo) the chance to take center stage and boldly stand in the spotlight.

Bluegrass is arguably one of the strongest genres of music and The Rollers put on a showcase of why with “Step Aside.” The instrumentation is so crisp, the vocals are ear popping, and when the husband and wife come together to harmonize its pure magic. However, what allows The Rollers to really take their modern bluegrass style to a whole other level, is how their background in country music really allows them the chance to craft a storytelling type of lyric that’s chalk full of all the proper emotions that the situation is fueling.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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