Smoker Dad “Hotdog Highway” Album Review
Written by Esosa Zuwa
Seattle-based, six-piece rock band Smoker Dad released their second album, Hotdog Highway. It’s sort of a deeply relatable testament to the band's journey of touring over many years, showing how being on the road can be exciting and also heartbreaking.
The album starts with ‘Part 2’. This song has a western, country-inspired feel to it when it starts, like a square dance. The voices are pleading and fun.
‘On My Mind’ is a more classic rock kind of song, with Western influences. There’s also a bit of gospel influence, with an organ in the background. The song repeats, “You’re the one that’s on my mind” and is about missing someone’s presence. The voicings repeat themself and loud longing.
‘Rollin’ On’ has an indie influence, with upbeat drums. It talks about how they have been waiting for something, even though it's not what they expect, and how they have been just ‘rolling on’. This song has more of a cheerful kind of vibe, upbeat in its tone, and a bit more whimsical.
With a rock take on country/blue-inspired tones, ‘Thinkin’ Bout Drinkin’’ is unusually fast and upbeat, especially at its beginning. The song talks about different substances and how there’s a desire to drink and have fun. It’s omniscient of 2000s pop-punk albums in its speed. It goes into guitar solos and whatnot.
‘Hotdog Highway’ starts off like a slow, power ballad similar to that of Billy Joel. The chorus slowly builds, and it becomes an anthemic rock song, even with the piano contributing to a grand building up. It sounds like something out of a movie. The chorus builds up to be grand and starts, before becoming quiet in the second verse. After the second chorus, it breaks down into a rock melody, with anthemic lyrics over it. It’s the grand finale of the album.
The album, although more uniform in its sound rooted in country-infused classic rock, was enjoyable to listen to, especially with its themes of the realities of touring.
Hotdog Highway single cover
