Colter Wall: Western Swing & Waltzes & Other Punchy Songs

- Blessed with a voice aeons beyond the age of its owner, Colter Wall has bailed up a handful of country music tracks, both his own and some deftly chosen covers, on his new record, and it is without hyperbole I say he single handedly dragged my ignorant ass into a continual love affair with country and in particular the outlaw kind.

Presented bare as the sun bleached bones scattered along the highway as you burn through the country side, the Canadian native fills space left by production with an abundance of narrative and honest, affable personality. Western Swing And Waltzes And Other Punchy Songs is Wall’s album length trot at his hypnotic best. He threads tales of his cowboy kin and his own well-lead life with appreciable honesty and taps classic songs along the way, laying down the reference points to appreciate his whole oeuvre.

We start with the title track and with it a hefty serving of clunking guitar and fiddle slathered about the baritone drawl. From the offset, Western Swing And Waltzes tethers your reins to a modest bar on a Friday evening after a solid week in the fields. Romance drips from every -ah- bar and to jump ahead to the closing track, Houlihan’s At The Holiday Inn is a sombre counterpoint to this. While the opener is an auditory tribute, the closer is yearning for those days rather than entertaining guests by throwing backhand one swings at calves and singing songs of your kin. Arranged between these bookends is a series of simple songs of Wall’s own work and music from his past, giving a feeling of fluidity in time and an accurate portrayal of a prairie boy across centuries.

In one of the only songs dedicated to firearms I’ve ever heard, Henry & Sam plods along with a languid stomp, talking about Samuel Colt and Benjamin Tyler Henry’s inventions respectively. It waddles with a rudimentary kick / snare pattern and devolves from endearment to loathing. Harmonica chirps away on a trail of its own mid-song, sounding lost on the path before the guitar takes it on its back, hiking the route set out on by the vocal melody.

Only once does a voice that's not Wall's own make an appearance. The solitary visitor pops up on Diamond Joe. Instead of singing in perfect harmony, the accompanying vocal is half-a-step behind. It isn’t exactly a duet meant for recording but friends singing along with a song popularised by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. On the topic of popular songs, man, the rework of Marty Robbins’ Big Iron dwarfs the original. Slowed down ever so slightly and made to match Wall's spectacular voice. Snare brushed rhythm peddles a legendary gunslinger ballad and between each line, you’re treated to a veritable buffet of musical flourishes. Want some harmonica? Of course! How about some fiddle? You bet! Is mandolin too much to ask? Not at all! The dynamics are worked to emotional and tonal perfection as they are curtained during the narrative climax only to be brought back with a newfound piano pal at the end.

When orating a work of his own as on Talkin’ Prarie Boy, it’s a good natured stream of conscious recitation of an awful keen -though slightly misguided- local trying to impress a travelling band. A fumbled start leads into just enough guitar picking to make it musical and a spoken word diatribe. There’s some good humour interjected with “buddy” and confusion about some weird, unknown beer called a…I think it’s an IPA.

Western Swings And Waltzes And Other Punchy Song mixes lost gems with brand new precious stones birthed out of Colter Wall’s own writing. Much like Saskatchewan has fields of gold, Colter Wall is amassing his own treasure trove. His voice may be his calling card but in terms of song writing and even song reinvention, you can’t deny he turns everything into gold.

- Matt Lynch.
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