Independent country-Americana artist Dillon Vanders has a few things to say about the business of getting heard. On “Rich Boys With Banjos (Pretty Girls With Guitars),” he turns his attention to money, connections and the photogenic faces that help keep the commercial music industry moving. “Rich Boys With Banjos (Pretty Girls With Guitars)” is a catchy country pop song possessing a good deal of melodic charm.
That guitar is going to stay in your head for a while. Vanders eases into “Rich Boys With Banjos (Pretty Girls With Guitars)” with a warm country intro, then lands on a chorus with a lovely pop swing to it. The rhythm has enough bounce to get your foot tapping, and Dillon Vanders’s voice makes the whole thing sound effortless. I especially like what the backing vocals do here, lifting the melody and giving the chorus a soft, airy finish.
It’s the sort of song you put on during a warm afternoon and end up playing three times. There’s something particularly satisfying about hearing these elements fall into place: the guitar catches your ear, the groove gets you moving, and the chorus makes another play seem inevitable. This is music for the stretch of the year when summer has finished and the afternoon sun still makes a convincing argument for staying outside.
Then the subject matter catches up with you. Vanders uses that approachable sound to carry a pointed observation about who gets opportunities and what helps secure them. Wealth, access and appearance become the targets of his humour, with the title itself doing a satisfying amount of the work.
The sweetness of the arrangement gives the satire an extra bite; you’re enjoying the chorus while considering the machinery behind choruses like it. What makes the song stick, though, is the songwriting beneath that argument. Vanders has put his frustration into something people can sing along to, and that’s a persuasive way of getting a point across.
“Rich Boys With Banjos (Pretty Girls With Guitars)” arrives on Bandcamp on October 30, followed by all streaming platforms on November 6.
