Wailing guitar solos and scratchy samples might work as a catalyst for a lot of cathartic music, but in the case of the new single “I Guess I Am the Only One” by Lorenzo Gabanizza and featuring Jeff Christie, the bombast you might expect from other artists just isn’t present. As collaborators, Gabanizza and Christie sound intent on finding the right way to take an older variation of Americana and give it a bit of spice, as if to revive something the right way as opposed to the way so many hybrid-influenced players have been with the aesthetic in the 2020s. This is a bit purer, and perhaps a good example of what utmost respect for a genre and its most important qualities is all about.
The production style here made me think of retro rock n’ roll in a lot of different ways, but the arrangement and the actual tone of this single are absolutely countrified. There’s no question that the harmonies would fit in well with the more pop-stylized Nashville crowd, but they’re not so restricted by their influences as to repel the interests of a more casual listener who is less enamored with country music in comparison to driving Americana. It’s hard to keep country fans happy these days while still appealing to the masses, but this is a case where the artists in the studio just happen to be charming enough for everyone to enjoy something about what they have to say.
Tension isn’t as much of a factor in this track as I would have preferred for it to be, but this certainly doesn’t take anything away from how the most exciting fever pitch in “I Guess I Am the Only One” comes into focus. Gabanizza wanted to create as smooth a song for this genre as he could muster up with the help of Jeff Christie in the recording studio, and given both the circumstances and all of the competition that these guys have got on all sides of the genre and its cutthroat underground, they did the kind of job that is likely to invite a lot of calls for more collaborations together in the future, whether that was part of the plan to begin with or not.
I think that those who listen to what Lorenzo Gabanizza has been recording this year will agree with me when I tell you that this artist is getting ready for something much bigger than pointed indie singles that have the staying power and melodic intrigue of something you would just as easily find on the mainstream level of music, and those who don’t agree would be wise to listen to “I Guess I Am the Only One” at their soonest convenience. The cultural influence of Americana can be felt across all of pop to this very day, and it’s in a single like this one that we’re forced to acknowledge that. Gabanizza and Christie offer something smashing here, and I’m glad they decided to make it happen.
Heather Savage
