DownTown Mystic – The Wish (Album Review)

Today’s review features a new album “The Wish” by DownTown Mystic, a Roots Rocker from New York, NY, USA. DownTown Mystic is the alter ego of American Rocker, Robert Allen, whose passion for “old school” recording borders on obsession. Robert adds, “I grew up listening to all these great records and their sound and style stayed with me”. 

The sound of DownTown Mystic is “vintage yet modern”, ala Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.  The music is rooted in all the great traditions of American Rock‘n’Roll, blending storytelling songs with vintage guitars and analog recording into a unique style that owes nods to Buffalo Springfield, The Beatles, CCR, Rockpile, and The Rolling Stones.

This is a 10-song album with 2 additional bonus tracks released through The Orchard/Sony Music. The album was just released on April 11, 2025. Two singles from the album, Better Day and One More Chance, were released before the album dropped and received nice reviews.

DownTown Mystic/Robert comments, “Given all the turmoil and anxiety in the world, I wanted the album to have an overall positive vibe and these songs deliver that.” The album also showcases the evolving RnR sound and style that’s unique to DownTown Mystic, featuring some of the artist’s best work to date. A big part of that is due to the ace rhythm section of drummer Steve Holley (Paul McCartney, Ian Hunter) and bassist Paul Page (Ian Hunter, Dion).

It was drummer Steve Holley who had a hand in changing the direction of The Wish during the recording. Robert recalls, “I’d been playing around with the song for years and finally decided to record it. We were working on the basic track, which was more up-tempo, and Steve said he heard the song as a cross between Neil Young and Pearl Jam. Intrigued, I said I would love to hear that and we proceeded to work on Steve’s idea, which slowed the tempo down and gave it a much stronger groove.”

The result is a gem that also features the excellent guitar work of guest artist Stephen DeAcutis aka Stevie D, who also mixed the track and most of the album. Mastering guru Leon Zervos (Crowded House, Pink) helped give the album its sonic boost.

DownTown Mystic has received radio airplay in over 50 countries and his music has been featured in over 250 TV shows and films. Impressive.

So let’s have a listen …

The album kicks off with The Wish – Sound Spa Mix. Starts fairly quickly. “If I had one wish, it would be for something to awaken.” Definitely has a  roots rock feel and sound. Nice lead guitar solo. “Emotions feed us so much feelings words can never know.” … “The wish is in your heart.”

One Step Closer – Sound Spa Mix. I like the vocal mix on this one. Starts with an acoustic guitar vamp. The sound production on this album is nice. “One step closer to home.”

Better Day – Sound Spa Mix. Has a jangly guitar backbone. “You’ve been waiting all your life for a better day.” The guitar solo melts into the mix; could be louder in the mix. Has a Beatles-like sound in the guitars. Nice.

One More Chance – Album Mix. This one has an arpeggiated guitar riff in the beginning of the song. “One more chance today.” I like the guitar solos at the beginning and in the middle, and end of this song. Nice guitar tone.

Shade of White – 2025 Shorefire Remix – sort of a boogie shuffle. Nice lead guitar. I’m finding that the instrument tracks are really well performed and mixed. Sort of an abrupt end to this song.

Tomorrow’s Clown – 2025 Leon Zervos Remaster kicks off with an arpeggiated guitar riff. This song has a very Bruce Springsteen feel. “Yesterday’s fool was tomorrow’s clown.” A song about finding a girl.

Love Light – Sound Spa Mix. “Love light … in my mind I am free.” I find the rhymes on this song are sort of way too predictable and simplistic. Nice breakdown in the middle of the song. The production is really nice.

History – 2025 Leon Zervos Remaster. Definitely a shuffle. I like this song just from the instrumental opening of the track. I like the voice on this song.

Modern Ways – Sound Spa Mix. Starts with a Chuck Berry kind of riff. I really like this song. Maybe my favorite one on the album so far. I can see this song getting radio airplay. It reminds me of Boston (although the voice is quite different), with a very roots rock feel. Excellent lead guitar solo. Has a very Southern rock sound in the mix. I like the vibe and vocals on this song.

Some Day – 2025 Leon Zervos Remaster. A slow song, very nice mix. Starts with an acoustic guitar, very nice delay/reverb electric guitar. I like the mandolin in the mix; it provides a very nice folk-rock type vibe. “I will love you when you’re down, because we’ll be one someday.”

Lost and Found – Bonus Track – Radio Single. Starts with a rhythm guitar. I like the mix and vocals on this track. Very pulsating rhythm feel. “That’s when you’re love turned around, … lost and found.” Very nice song.

Read the Signs – Bonus Track – 2025 Leon Zervos Remaster. Starts off with an acoustic guitar, sort of sounds like the start of a Zeppelin tune. I like the vocal mix on this song too. “Don’t wait to begin, read the signs.” “The future is here, read the signs.” Nice lead guitar solo on this song.

This album sort of sounded like two different albums to me. The first 7 songs have a completely different feel in the mix, particularly the vocal mix. Whereas, I really like the songs History, Modern Ways, Some Day, Lost and Found, and Read the Signs, which have a better vocal mix IMO; they sound so different, they could have been released as a separate EP.

SCORE/Good:  The vocals and lyrics leave something to be desired, but the instrumental performances, mix, and production on this album are particularly nice. I might release the back half of this album as a separate work, I think it would go over on roots rock radio. The vocals sound better on the last half of the album, maybe different studios? Not sold on the first half of this album, just lacks emotional bonding for the listener, even though everything sounds pleasant enough. Much love, Beth

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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