Passenger’s “Hell Or High Water” was released on May 18th, 2018 as a precursor/ first single for the English artist’s new album, Runaway.

While the song is produced by an artist from Brighton, England, “Hell Or High Water” has been described by the artist himself as evoking a strong theme of Americana. An acoustic guitar strums along to Rosenberg’s lyrics, and the style of the tune does resemble other works released by contemporary American folk bands such as Mumford & Sons, Shaky Graves, and The Lumineers.

The song is medium tempo and relies mainly on Rosenberg’s voice plus an acoustic guitar to support its momentum, and it works. The artist’s voice is bright and deft, able to shape itself around and within the strums of the guitar in a highly complimentary way.  

The opening lyrics read: “Was it the trick of the light? Or a shot in the dark? Was it hell or high water that broke our hearts?” As a U.S. citizen from the American South, the evocation of both the notions of hell and gun use are synonymous with our Southern states. (A popular motto of the American South is ‘Guns, God, and Glory.’) The lyrics continue with: “Was it a knife in my back? Or a fork in the road? Was it hell or high water that left us alone?” Other themes such as betrayal and difficult choices emerge.    

Along with the theme of Americana that channels through “Hell Or High Water,” the single’s music video was filmed in national parks across the United States’ Southwest, including those in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California. While the U.S.’s Southern and Midwestern regions aren’t synonymous, both are symbolized by the Working Class, the vocations of farming/harvesting, and lots of wild, natural, open space. (Texas is one of those states that is both categorized as ‘The South’ and ‘The Midwest.’)

Passenger is the stage name for singer/songwriter Michael David Rosenberg, who debuted on the music scene at the age of 16 and formed the band Passenger in 2003.  While Rosenberg wrote the majority of the music for the band, they were destined to break up in 2009. A single act by 2010, Rosenberg maintained the stage-name Passenger and developed his brand independently, collaborating often with well-known Australian and British performers such as Ed Sheeran, Boy & Bear, and Josh Pyke. A fall, European tour is scheduled.