Rusty Reid closes out the rollout of his long-buried album “The Unreasonables” with its third single, “Let’s Just Talk.” This release feels less like a new chapter and more like a rediscovered snapshot of a moment frozen in time. Reid recorded the material some forty years ago and shelved it, only to finally release the double album to a 2025 audience that wasn’t even born when the tracks were tracked. The response so far suggests the songs still hit a nerve.
“Let’s Just Talk” showcases a different lineup of players from the previous singles, but the vision stays consistent. This isn’t polished modern pop rock. It’s something more immediate: guitars with a jangle that recalls early New Wave, a steady rhythm section, and a vocal performance that carries both swagger and uncertainty. The track leans into the tension between desire and hesitation, focusing on those early hours of intimacy when nothing is clear and every signal feels coded. The hook wrestles with consent and mutual understanding without moralizing. The narrator wonders, “How can I tell how far you want to go?” That question lands with sincerity instead of angst.
The song builds in energy and momentum. By the bridge, the band drops into a tighter groove and the payoff hits. It’s worth the listen through to the final chorus. There is a cinematic quality to the build, even as the production keeps things straightforward. No overthinking, no studio gloss meant to modernize the sound. The track breathes as a piece of vintage rock left untouched.
The origin story of “The Unreasonables” shapes how listeners hear these songs. A band once poised for something, then silent for decades. Lost tapes and abandoned dreams now resurfaced. Instead of drifting into nostalgia for its own sake, the single feels oddly current. The themes of desire, risk, and communication remain relevant. The recording itself feels unfiltered, reminding listeners how powerful honest rock songwriting can be without contemporary layers of digital perfection.
Reid is known for songs that lean into political or philosophical commentary, but this album avoids that lane intentionally. “Let’s Just Talk” lives fully in the emotional and physical push and pull between two people. That restraint sharpens the experience. It’s refreshingly simple in its subject matter while capturing the fragility and thrill of human connection at the edge of something new.
There’s also a meta satisfaction to the release. Reid describes being thrilled that modern listeners appreciate these 1980s-era nuggets. The song evokes that era but doesn’t feel trapped in it. You hear echoes of early REM, The Cars, or the janglier end of American New Wave, but the writing stands on its own.
As the likely final single from the album, “Let’s Just Talk” works as both culmination and invitation. It summarizes the core aesthetic of the project: melodic rock built on tension, curiosity, and instinct. It also encourages listeners to go explore the rest of “The Unreasonables” and hear the arc of a band that almost never escaped the vault.
Sometimes timing doesn’t matter. A good rock song stays good. And in this case, better forty years late than never.
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