DownTown Mystic returns with a single that reminds us why the rock genre ever mattered in the first place — grit, groove, and a wry grin. “Somebody’s Always Doin’ Something 2 Somebody,” the lead single from the upcoming Mystic Highway EP, finds frontman Robert Allen and company channeling the timeless pulse of classic rock into something both familiar and freshly alive.
From the first snap of Steve Holley’s drums and the swaggering pulse of Paul Page’s bass, the track hits like a lost gem from the golden age of barroom rock — think Exile on Main St.-era Stones colliding with the storytelling punch of Tom Petty and John Hiatt. The song’s premise is simple yet universal: human folly is eternal, and we’re all caught in the same messy dance of doing something to somebody. But Allen’s delivery, sly and knowing, gives it teeth. His raspy vocals and sharp rhythm guitar carve through the mix like they’ve got a few miles — and stories — behind them.
Adding muscle and mystique to the arrangement is Jeff Levine (Joe Cocker, Hall & Oates) on Moog, piano, and organ. His warm, analog keys ripple underneath the track, giving it that earthy, late-night jam feel — the kind that makes you wish the bar never closes. Meanwhile, Michele Weir’s harmony vocals shimmer like a knowing echo to Allen’s world-weary croon.
Lyrically, the song’s biblical opening verse — Adam, Eve, the fall, and all that — could feel heavy-handed in lesser hands. But Allen leans into it with a wink, wrapping timeless morality in a mischievous blues-rock package. “Ever since that day, nothing’s changed much at all,” he sings, with a mix of resignation and humor that feels perfectly of our times. In a world where “somebody’s always doing something to somebody,” DownTown Mystic doesn’t preach — they play.
It’s fitting that this track doubles as the bonus cut on Mystic Highway, an EP that continues Allen’s mission to keep real rock ’n’ roll alive in the streaming era. With his production guiding an all-star cast of players, the sound is crisp but never sterile — live-band energy captured in its natural habitat.
And in true DownTown Mystic fashion, there’s always more beneath the hood. The single also serves as the first AI-generated video project from Richard Levinsohn/Rick Lee Vinson Group, proof that Allen isn’t afraid to let classic rock rub shoulders with modern tech. It’s the kind of left-field move that keeps the DownTown Mystic project interesting: reverent to the past, restless about the future.
If “Somebody’s Always Doin’ Something 2 Somebody” is any sign, Mystic Highway promises to be a spirited detour through the roots of rock with a modern compass. DownTown Mystic may be looking in the rearview mirror, but the engine’s running hot — and the road ahead looks wide open.
Verdict: A sharp, rootsy rocker with wit, soul, and a groove deep enough to remind us that real rock ’n’ roll never dies — it just keeps finding new highways to ride.
https://downtownmystic.net
