Blending all the best elements of country, rock’n’roll and also more rootsy sounds and styles, Cullen Wade and The Waters’ eponymous debut album covers a lot of musical ground. Exploring the broad genres listed above is enough to satisfy most artists, but what makes this album, and indeed Wade’s music in general, stand out is how he can gather musical sounds and style from beyond those sonic borders too.
Take Broken and Bruised; sure, it has an Americana vibe, but the background stomp that drives it is pure Brit-pop, or at least the sound of an indie beat. I’m not saying that this is a conscious effort (if it was, additional kudos is due), but it is an example of the myriad musical building blocks he gathers to work with.
Company is a polished yet understated heartfelt ballad; Old Habits drives on a nostalgic rock ‘n’ roll guitar twang, relentless energy, and, ironically, given that the lyrics are about finding it difficult to change who you are, a restless, slightly untethered energy.
And Lover’s Questions again underlines Wade’s ability to move through other genres. It is a slow-burning, bluesy track that allows the guitar to indulge heavily in coiled and complex, at times almost psychedelic soloing before Take It Slow buts the album to bed with a mid-paced and sentimental country groover.
It’s an album that was delayed, like so many others, by the lockdown and isolations ushered in by the pandemic, but it was sure worth the wait.
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