Highway Terrier Debuts with “Covid Blues”
Single Review ★ Kenzie Gay ★ @kenzwrites ★ 2 Minutes
Mere months after sitting down with us to discuss rock n roll, the art of guitar playing, Greta Van Fleet, and film scores, Ben Sherstinsky aka the visionary behind rock project Highway Terrier has finally released his first single “Covid Blues” and boy, what a debut.
“Back in 2020 during the pandemic, I started slowly coming up with a riff and song structure, but the song had nothing to do with Covid. Fast forward to mid-2024 and that became the blueprint for a song called “I Lost My Baby”, but also I had another song that was indeed called “Covid Blues” except it was more like a slow blues influenced by the blues of the 30s. But it was also influenced by my personal experiences; in Winter 2024 I went to a frat party and…got Covid. And this was my THIRD TIME getting Covid and the previous time was just a couple months prior! So I thought, I have to write a song about it. The song is about getting Covid all of the time. In Summer 2024 I had the idea to consolidate it with “I Lost My Baby”: What if the song was “Covid Blues” but it had the fast-paced rock and roll/punk music of “I Lost My Baby”? So that’s how the song was born” said Sherstinsky back in our May interview which you can read here.
This background context makes the listening experience of Covid Blues all the more interesting and relatable to listeners. Opening up with a magnetic drum beat, the song rips into a frenzy of angsty blues rock with vivid influence throughout. All the instrumentals in the song were provided by Sherstinsky (guitar, drums, trumpet, and bass) and his guitar playing in specific is extremely fired up and similar to the styles of Jake Kiszka (Greta Van Fleet, Mirador) and Alex Lifeson (Rush), whom he named as inspirations previously.
Apart from instrumentals, Sherstinsky also serves as the lead singer of the track alongside backing vocalists Kelly May and Carson Murray and, you guessed it, the singing is just as electric to further convey the isolation and anguish that comes with Covid and its treatment, repercussions, and fallout. Vocally, Sherstinsky’s singing style is very reminiscent of Alex Turner’s and Jack White’s, neither of which he name dropped during our interview but I find them extremely similar all the same.
We’ve all experienced Covid-19 in one way or another whether it be as a patient or onlooker and I think we can all agree that it sucks even now that we’ve overcome the initial lockdown craze of 2020. This frustration is very vivid within Covid Blues from Sherstinsky, May, and Murray’s rock n roll screaming to the quick and thwarted energy the piece holds. In a nutshell, Covid Blues is like if you took Greta Van Fleet, Rush, and Arctic Monkeys then blended it all together with a touch of The White Stripes for good measure. It’s heavy, well produced, evocative, and a really great reminder of what rock music is capable of in the year of 2025.
As of publishing, Covid Blues is available on Spotify for your listening pleasure. After this release, Highway Terrier has an upcoming debut EP up their sleeves to be dropped at an undisclosed date and if you live in the Davis, California area you may be lucky enough to catch a show. You can listen to the song and keep up with Ben and other Highway Terrier ventures at the links below.
