For a song that highlights the United States through the good, bad, and ugly, Cicada Rhythm’s “America’s Open Roads” is surprisingly upbeat. It doesn’t come in a sardonic fashion, either. Rather, the Athens folk band felt intent on developing a genuinely uplifting message when co-writing and performing the tune with its producer, Milk Carton Kid Kenneth Pattengale.
The band’s Dave Kirslis describes it as a song about “keeping roads open, rather than building walls over them”. While it opens up with a line as harrowing as harrowing as “every day starts with a terrible dream”, the song ultimately raises our spirits and reminds us that we are better together than divided. Its accompanying music video, premiering with PopMatters today, is an ode to both the beautiful and tumultuous threads that tie America together. It features gorgeous artwork highlighting geography commonly associated with the country with some whimsical surprises along the way as the band drives along from state to state.
Cicada Rhythm’s new album, Everywhere I Go, is slated for release on 27 April via New West.