REVIEW: Bob Dee With Petro — (I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone (SINGLE)

Bob Dee has been in this business with his band Petro for a long time, and you can tell this in their new single “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone.” This isn’t because Bob Dee with Petro sound tired or removed from the strenuousness of the play here, but instead because of the confidence with which this player is leading his band. “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone” is a reflection of technique as well as good timing from an artist who definitely knows a thing or two about the genre’s best and most relevant elements.

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There’s an almost gothic influence over the refrain as well as the main verses in this song that was intriguing and unique to me the first time I listened to the track, and honestly, it feels as natural as any of the words do to me. Dee isn’t trying to force a profile that doesn’t work for himself here, but he is going out on a limb with trying to do something more stylish and personal than what the status quo calls for, which is something I wish I could say about his peers in and outside of the indie rock genre as well.

To me, Dee’s smoky voice is a trademark for his music, and in this sense, his latest release is no different from the other tracks he’s stuck his name on in the past. He’s babying his pipes for this performance, but he isn’t making the music entirely vocal-centric. There’s something old guard about what he’s doing as a leader for Petro, but taking into account what it is that this musician wants to be portrayed as and for, I think it works. It’s working exceptionally well here, and those who listen to the track will probably agree with me.

I like that Dee isn’t putting everything on the hook in this single, which is a far cry from what a lot of his less than brilliant contemporaries would have done with this same material. I don’t think that he wants to be lumped in with the majority of his competition, and to this end, he’s going out of his way to be more of a one-of-a-kind catch as a songwriter and performer than he ever has to. I respect the craft, and when more listeners get an idea about his, they will as well.

This is yet another killer addition to Bob Dee with Petro’s discography, and in a time that has been cheering on the likes of the Chordaes and AV Super Sunshine, I think it almost goes without saying that a piece like “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone” is going to do well with the critics in the press. Dee is playing like he has everything on the line in this performance even though he didn’t have anything to lose in the first place, and if there’s anything we can learn from the passion he has here, it’s that his story is nowhere near reaching its likely conclusion — he’s still got a lot to share with the world.

Colin Jordan