Powerhouse singer Andrew McConathy is commanding from the outset on “Fire in House” as he proceeds to light up Wheels of the City, the latest from the Colorado-based roots-rock band, Drunken Hearts. McConathy rich deep expressive baritone evokes that deep sound of the lead singer for the Crash Test Dummies. Okay, nobody’s voice is that deep; Eddie Vedder may be a better comparison. Anyway, The Drunken Hearts have much more to offer than just a killer vocalist. This is a quintet that masterfully mixes roots-rock with elements of country and folk, adding many textures and different instrumentation in the process.
This 11 track album was recorded with Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth) in Denver. Carbone both produced and contributed multiple instruments to the record, which the band started work on just one day after the release of their 2018 album, The Prize. For Wheels Of The City, the group created and recorded a new song each day of the sessions. “I loved working on this record with The Drunken Hearts,” said Carbone, a partner in LoHi Records. “Andrew sent me the acoustic demos of the songs and I sketched out the arrangements and instrumentation. The band essentially learned the songs and added their ideas the day we tracked them.”
The first single, “‘Unrest,” was one of McConathy ‘s older songs that started out as a country, cowboy-ballad that instantly morphed into a piano-driven rock song topped off by a very psychedelic, Pink Floyd inspired bridge with Carbone, who also made some lyrical adjustments. at the helm. Its chorus lyrical is certainly memorable – “Before I die, I want to learn to live.” Other notable tunes include the title track, which begins with a Dead-like groove before becoming a mid-tempo tale that builds in intensity, underpinned with pedal steel and four-piece horn section, delivered with another superb vocal from McConathy. “Run It All Together” is an infectious shuffle effectively melding electric guitar and pedal steel. “Passchendaele,” as one might guess, is an interesting, meandering tune, a ballad augmented by a four-piece string section with a lyric that borrows from Bob Weir’s “Mexicali Blues’- “left dead on the side of the road.” The closing “Cave” with Carbone’s added spooky spoken word, surprisingly soon morphs into a dark blues-rock mode. Amidst many positive elements, the band skillfully navigates the mysterious dark too.
Drunken Hearts adeptly blend country, mountain music, and psychedelia. Many of the songs have quite interesting bridges and catchy hooks with just enough unpredictability to keep the listener guessing. The band members me and live in the Boulder/Denver area but hail from other states. McConathy, the primary songwriter and lead vocalist, is from Shreveport, LA and also plays acoustic and electric guitars Cody Russell (pedal steel, dobro, lap steel) and Kory Montgomery (Electric guitar, vocals) are both from Arkansas. Bassist Jon McCartan comes from upstate New York by way of Vermont and drummer Alex Johnson is originally from Chicago.
More than anything, Drunken Hearts will evoke little snippets of our nostalgic memories of our favorite country-rock and rock bands. Yet, their music, as stated, is a bit more complex, without the usual clichés. And, surely McConathy has one of the most memorable voices in roots music.
