In a world longing for the good old days, Young Gun Silver Fox have delivered a sonic time machine straight to the golden era of groove. The dynamic duo of Andy Platts and Shawn Lee return with “Stevie & Sly,” the first taste of their upcoming fifth album “Pleasure”. The track is a shimmering homage to a bygone era, tapping into their signature West Coast smoothness while paying tribute to two undeniable legends: Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone.
“This was the very first idea we did together at Andy’s just before Christmas,” Lee recalls. “We had got back a few days earlier from our Dutch tour. We knew we had to deliver this album by January 31st so the pressure was on.”
Despite the time crunch, the track came together effortlessly. “Musically this came about jamming on the Rhodes and bass and came together very quickly,” Platts adds. “The lyrics I wrote with Conner Reeves – we were trying to convey the feeling of being an old soul born out of time and to capture it with some heavy name dropping in the chorus. ‘Stevie & Sly’ are two of the greatest artists of our time – Sly especially is one of my all-time heroes.”
As expected, ‘Stevie & Sly’ bears all the hallmarks of Young Gun Silver Fox’s trademark sound—soulful catchiness, masterful hooks, and a breezy warmth that makes it feel like it belongs on a mixtape wedged between Steely Dan and Hall & Oates. The duo, who started their collaboration in 2015, have spent nearly a decade refining their love for melodic, harmony-laden, California-soaked soft rock. Now, they’re one of the biggest forces in the West Coast AOR revival movement.
Their new album “Pleasure” is expected to be released in May. If ‘Stevie & Sly’ is any indication, Young Gun Silver Fox are once again ready to make nostalgia feel like the future.
Read more about Young Gun Silver Fox HERE.
Photo: Dan Massie