Warm in the Wake: Night Wounds

Warm in the Wake
Night Wounds
Beta Cloud Records [2012]









Fire Note Says: Warm in the Wake delivers the goods on their first release in four years, highly recommended!

Album Review:
As I was listening to Night Wounds, the new lp from Alabama’s Warm in the Wake, I couldn’t shake the feeling that these guys sounded like somebody, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Over repeated listenings, I put it together, they sound like Wilco, Teenage Fanclub, Neil Young, and Grandaddy and Beachwood Sparks, all mixed together. They aren’t quite space cowboys in the Gram Parsons vein like the Sparks, but they have certain elements, and certainly the same gift for songwriting and arrangements, but they lean more toward the country pop influenced Teenage Fanclub side of things. All of these qualities add up to an excellent listening experience, which draws you in, and most importantly, keeps drawing you back.

Opening track, “In A City”, sounds like Velvet Underground’s “Candy Says”, poured through a Grandaddy filter. “Stricken (Jet Stream)” could easily be an outtake from Wilco’s Summerteeth, and it would be a good outtake, one cut for length, not because of quality issues. I could play spot the influence on any number of the tracks, but it all boils down to the main influences listed in the opening paragraph.

It’s been 4 years since Warm in the Wake’s last release, 2008’s Speak Plainly, which I have not heard. In fact, Night Wounds is so good; I must now get my hands on the rest of their discography! Let’s hope it’s not another 4 years before their next release!

Key Tracks: "In A City", "Stricken (Jet Stream)", "Healer", "Bored, Blessed Or Hexed", "Sickly Sweet"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Wilco
Teenage Fanclub
Grandaddy

Warm in the Wake: American Prehistoric [Fire Note Review 9/17/07]

Warm in the Wake Website
Warm in the Wake Facebook

-Reviewed by Kevin Poindexter