Some influences stay buried in the background, while others end up shaping the entire way an artist thinks about music. For Jason McKee, the man behind Melbourne project Reetoxa, discovering Lou Reed’s solo work at fifteen was clearly one of those moments.
‘Dancing With Lou’, taken from Reetoxa’s second album ‘Soliloquy’, revisits that moment with equal parts affection, nostalgia and rock ’n’ roll attitude. The song looks back to 1995, when McKee was introduced to The Blue Mask by a friend’s father and suddenly found himself hearing songwriting in an entirely different way.
Lou Reed’s refusal to sanitise subject matter gave him a sense of permission like never before. Against a musical backdrop dominated by grunge and alternative rock, he discovered a writer who could be blunt, provocative, funny and deeply human without worrying about conventional boundaries.
But rather than attempting a Lou Reed impersonation, Reetoxa channels the spirit of that discovery into a track that feels loose, rhythmic and full of personality. He wanted something raw enough to carry genuine rock weight but lively enough to move to, and the arrangement strikes that balance effortlessly.
Peter Marin of JET brings punch to the drums, while James Ryan’s guitar work and Kit Riley’s bass give the song a seasoned, muscular foundation. Mixed and mastered by Simon Moro, the track keeps enough roughness around the edges to retain its character without ever feeling unfinished.
It’s less of a tribute in the traditional sense and more a thank you note to the artist who opened the door for him all those years ago. The song celebrates the moment McKee realised that songwriting could be fearless, strange and completely personal.
That makes it one of the more characterful moments to emerge from Soliloquy. Here, Reetoxa takes a private memory and turns it into something outward-facing, energetic and wholly alive.
