Built on harmonious, hooky rock productions, the new album Wonderlick Goes to War pairs Wonderlick‘s signature melodic charm with a sharp blend of personal anecdotes and pointed societal observations. The band, led by Jay Blumenfield and Tim Quirk, excel at turning experiences into miniature epics, and here they stretch that gift across a broader canvas — tackling everything from fading ideals to creeping authoritarianism, without ever losing their rock and power-pop instincts. With producer Dave Trumfio onboard to elevate the sound, the result is a record that’s both sonically rich and thematically poignant.
Vibrant piano infusions and sturdy guitar work enamor on opening track “Niagara Falls, 1969,” enjoyably representative of the band’s anecdotal-driven charms. The hooky central refrain exudes a power-pop charisma — “The river must be stalled / To save Niagara Falls” — drawn from their own experience following a house show at Lewiston, NY, and then a sight-seeing stop at Niagara Falls. The lyrics speak to the act of preserving a natural wonder, and how interrupting nature itself may be part of that process. During that trip, the band learned the American side has been artificially dammed more than once, not to destroy but to protect the landmark from erosion.
The tracks continue to enamor with their personal recounting and enthusiastic rock productions. Another highlight, “Vinko Bogataj” turns the infamous ski-jump crash from Wide World of Sports into a meditation on accepting ordinariness, and finding meaning in effort first and foremost Elsewhere, the XTC-esque “I Am a Children’s Book” gives voice to a neglected relic, its once-hopeful message warped by time and context, a quiet nod to how reactionaries reshapes or suppresses ideas. And in “Popping Pills,” the band draws a line from reckless youth to aging ritual, transforming a moment of mundane medication-sorting into a moving reflection on mortality. Wonderlick Goes to War excels in its stylish, melodic rock prowess alongside poignant perspectives on society and self, drawn from the act’s own trials and tribulations.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
