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EP Review: Steel Union by Steel Union

I was so happy when I heard that Steel Union was finally releasing an EP! If you've never heard of Steel Union, they're a fairly new country trio comprised of Rachel Potter, Donny Fallgatter and Josh Matheny. And they are wonderful.

I have written about them before and there's one member that I've written about a few times on here: Rachel Potter. She's become one of my favorite female singers and once you hear her sing, you'll know why that is. She has such a great Broadway quality voice which works considering that she's actually performed on Broadway. She released a great album back in 2015 called Not So Black and White and you can find my review of that here. It was one of my favorite albums of 2015 and I still listen to it pretty often. 

That said, as much as I like her solo stuff I am absolutely loving Steel Union. Donny Fallgatter has a great country voice while Josh Matheny brings some raspiness into the trio which I like. He's also the steel playing member of Steel Union. Can't have a trio called Steel Union without some steel, now can you?

Rachel, Donny and Josh sound so wonderful together. Their harmonies are nice and tight which I love. I've gotten to see them live a couple of times and they put on a great show. It is my hope that this EP helps take them to the next level. This is such a strong debut EP, one that I trust to do exactly that. I think that once you hear them, you'll love them.

So let's talk about the tracks.

1) "Stereotype". A solid choice to kick off the EP, I think. It's a great song for those of you who like a little bit of rock in your country. There's not a lot, but there's definitely some in there. This song gives me early Little Big Town or Lady Antebellum vibes. True to those two fabulous group, the members of Steel Union take turns singing lead. Often splitting the lead in one song. Just a hint: they're not talking about the kind of stereotype you might be thinking. It's about their preferred way to listen to music. Good and loud. Really like this one. 

2) "Single Life". This is a song about a woman with a plan. She's gonna to go out, she's gonna drink and she's gonna bring home Mr. Wrong. But who should come walking in? None other than Mr. Right. "You can all come to the funeral / Oh, but I'll be wearing white / Say goodbye to my single life". What a great concept for a song. Great feel to this one too. I seem to like this more each time I listen to it. The best part? Right around the 2:30 minute mark. When the band pulls back a bit and lets the harmonies come to the forefront a little more. It's like we get taken to church for a minute there and I love that. 

3) "If I Don't Love You". The only ballad on the EP and I'm so happy that it got included. Both because it shows off another side of their voices and because it's a beautiful song, albeit pretty heartbreaking. "If I don't love you, what's the big deal? /  I shouldn't even care about the way you feel / Why's my whole world breaking in two / If I don't love you?". At the moment, this is my favorite song on the EP. Beautifully sung. 

4) "Slide". One of the first Steel Union songs I ever heard and a great way to close out the EP. Love their harmonies in this one. Okay, okay, I love their harmonies in general. There's something about this one though. It's when they do the "slide" at the end of each chorus; when they do that vocal, well, slide as a group. I'm such a sucker for things like that. Their harmonies are so big in this song and I love that. Plus it includes a dobro solo, courtesy of Josh. I've asked this question before, but why on earth don't we see dobros getting used more often? I'll never understand it. Every time I hear Josh play it makes me want to give learning the dobro another shot. It really does. 

Steel Union's debut EP does what every single EP should do. It makes you want more. You get a taste of what they can do and that gets you excited to see what else they'll do. Rachel, Donny and Josh were made to sing together. I really believe that. They all complement each other so wonderfully. 

Do yourself a favor and check them out. I promise that you won't regret it. And if you like them, tell your friends and whoever will listen about them. They fall under the category of artists who deserve to be heard. So spread the word.

And keep up with them below:
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