The Mohawk Lodge - Wildfires

Opening the album with a voice that is somewhere between heartbreak and broken bank is a mind job of a starter. It is apparent that there is some sort of awkwardness that lines the vocal chords of front man Ryder Havdale who wails and croons through the Mohawk Lodge’s new album Wildfires like a blue collar dramatic dusting his heart up on his sleeve. Wildfires finds the band maneuvering itself away from the dusk beauty of communal campfires found on their debut Rare Birds to an attraction of dustbowl duels and working man feuds; small, simple realizations of the fragility of life and nature (“Where ‘Em Out”), reflections on hope during the tribulations of common day sufferings (“Hard Times”).

Despite the comparison that might turn away some of the more hard-headed hipster mindsets, Havdale’s vocals have a tendency to mirror up to a more gruffed up, dirt headed, and collar stained Chris Martin – an image that is both rewarding to those that have found the celebrity husband personality a bit overbearing at times as well as to those that would be eager to see a departure from more mainlined rock. With backing duties being fulfilled on multiple tracks by Handsome Fur, Wolf Parader Dan Boeckner, Wildfires is filled with the credibility and texture that recall some of the more interesting and gratifying releases as of recent.

[mp3] The Mohawk Lodge – Wear ‘Em Out

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