By Eileen Fortner, Contributor 

[RyleeBapst; 2024]

Rating: 8/10

The temperature has finally dropped below 80 degrees and Athens fall is starting! Fellow Ohio University student Rylee Bapst just released a single perfect for this fall. 

Throughout the years, Bapst has stayed rather true to his own unique sound, running with that indie folk genre with traces of soft funk that you would hear in a coffee house and say, “Who is this?” Bapst’s new single, “Wonder If You Know,” is reminiscent of early Maroon 5 songs like “Sunday Morning,” with elements of John Mayer littered throughout. 

Like Mayer, Bapst is blessed with one of the best talents: the ability to absolutely shred on the guitar. “Wonder If You Know” certainly showcases Bapst’s ability as a guitarist, with sick guitar riffs and solos throughout the entirety of the song. 

Not only does Bapst shred on the guitar, but he also kills his vocals. Throughout the entirety of the song, Bapst does a wonderful job of showing a detailed range of notes while keeping a well-supported tone. One of the hardest things as a singer is to use varied dynamics, building upon the emotions and melody that are conveyed throughout the tune. Bapst does a wonderful job at really using these varied dynamics until just before his final guitar solo where he just knocks it out of the park, belting to his heart’s content. 

While Bapst kills it on the guitar and vocals, there’s no way we can get away with ignoring the drums in this song. In this tune, Wyatt Fratianne plays the drums, and I think it’s rather safe to say that he smashes it, (hopefully he didn’t actually smash any drums). The drums start as a rather simple jazz groove, as the melody builds so do the drums. The way that the drums, vocals and guitar can smoothly blend together truly shows that these two are able to work seamlessly together as musicians.

Though all of the musicians on this track can work musically together to create a tune that anyone can vibe with, there is one major problem I see: the recording and mixing quality. I think there is major room for improvement within this realm for the artist. For the recording quality, the guitar sort of sounds like it was put into Apple Garage Band with the “New Room” filter over the track. 

Overall, I’d say this is an amazing single that I have and will listen to a million times. Bapst has a unique sound that is hard to find and is easy to listen to at any time. You can catch Rylee Bapst around Court Street playing at various venues. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll see him at The Union, which surely is a treat.