‘Lumberjack’ is simple, minimal, acoustic driven indie rock done right. It starts with just a simple acoustic melody and an indie innocence before suddenly hitting you with a chorus that’s heavy and intense, loaded with anxiousness and anger even. In a way, there’s a lot of Weezer in Mike Railey’s style and performance. I couldn’t help but hear the similarity in the arrangement, lyricism, and the emotion when I first went over Lumberjack. Which is why I was also left pleasantly surprised to see that Railey acknowledges Weezer as a striking influence, with Rivers Cuomo himself also enjoying his latest tune.
It’s an extended metaphor on songwriting, with Lumberjack referring to a process of honing your craft akin to sharpening an axe. It’s an iterative process, no one really has a moment of absolute inspiration that makes you a start. You grind, grind, and grind more till you become something more than what you could have ever conceived. Minimal, but impactful and hard hitting all at once.