B-Side Guys

Robins feast after rainfall in the opening lines of “Shapeshifter,” setting a tone of natural cycles and inevitable change that runs throughout Royce Leon’s latest single. Recorded at National Freedom, where Nathaniel Rateliff and Damien Jurado have laid down tracks, the song demonstrates Leon’s ability to honor folk traditions while maintaining his own distinct voice.

The production, overseen by Christopher Colbert (known for his work with Leon Bridges and Sufjan Stevens), creates space for both intimacy and expansion. This balance serves the material’s exploration of transformation, allowing each element to evolve naturally while maintaining the essential warmth of folk arrangement.

Leon’s relatively late entry into recording at age 33 brings maturity to lines like “You asked me to fly but you know I only swim.” His years spent touring from the Olympic Peninsula to the Bay Area have clearly informed both his songwriting and delivery, creating something that feels both personal and universal.

The chorus’s declaration “I’m a shapeshifter and I keep on hunting for change” gains power through repetition, each iteration suggesting new meaning. The arrangement supports these evolutionary moments through subtle shifts in texture and intensity, demonstrating why one listener compared Leon to Leonard Cohen with hints of Jackson Browne.

Particularly effective is the way the track handles water imagery, from rain to ocean to sinking depths. These metaphors for transformation find perfect support in production choices that allow each element to flow naturally into the next, creating sense of constant motion without losing structural integrity.

The song’s structure demonstrates Leon’s absorption of influences ranging from Jerry Jeff Walker to Nick Drake, though it never feels derivative. His description as a “troubadour” feels earned rather than affected, supported by arrangements that prioritize storytelling over showmanship.

Having shared stages with artists like The Muddy Souls and Electric Tumbleweed, Leon brings performance experience to studio craft. The track maintains live performance energy while taking advantage of studio capabilities, creating something that honors both folk tradition and contemporary production values.

Through careful attention to both lyrical craft and arrangement, “Shapeshifter” succeeds in creating what Leon describes as “a contemplative experience of perspectives developed from journeys inside of the mind and outside of the body.” The track suggests why audiences within twenty minutes’ crow-flight might indeed find themselves having a good time.

As preview of an upcoming EP, “Shapeshifter” suggests an artist who has found his voice through careful study of tradition while maintaining openness to evolution. It’s evidence that sometimes the best way to honor musical heritage is to allow it to transform through personal experience.