Being productive yields big vibey results on Vernon-Maritime folk band Cod Gone Wild’s second album The Traveler.
The busy group captured some kitchen party ambiance in the studio, resulting in a recording that’s less restrained than their debut.
As well, the group (Andrew Mercer, vocals, guitar, other stringed instruments; Chad “Rhino” Carter, drums, vocals; and Roy Kawano, bass) has added fiddle player/vocalist Anjuli Otter to the band, thereby notching up the energy several levels.
The band has highlighted their harmony vocals noticeably, resulting in a rich and transparent ensemble sound that brings fire to the foot-stomping jigs, reels and ceilidh party music.
The group specializes in Maritime folk music that also shows elements of dark romantic Gaelic and British Isles themes, played out in many traditional ballads (highwaymen, innkeepers daughters, etc.).
The slightly eerie melodies that ring through much of that material are built up and merged with sinuous violin wailing and propulsive drumming. Both are spacious and song serving, and confirm the group’s east/west loyalties.
The cover songs on The Traveler are well considered: a few songs are pure nostalgia (Saltwater Joys), and some are ballads of longing and thwarted desire (Sarah). But the background feeling is one of ballsy barroom revelry, unrestrained and worry-free songs that roll along with a barking lyrical sway (Step it out Mary, Drunken Sailor).
The title song is a Mercer/Carter co-write that deals with the eternal Maritimer’s lament: leaving home behind. It all fits… Mercer’s vocals shine on the upbeat reel rockers –– he and the band thrive in a fast-paced environment, when tempered with the haunting ballads that brood, fondly, on the past.
The strength of The Traveler lies in a loud and lyrical lilt.
–– Dean Gordon-Smith is a Vernon-based musician and longtime music columnist for The Morning Star. His column, Street Sounds, appears every Friday in The Morning Star’s arts-ent. section.
