Music Review: Wolf Willow, ‘Old Guitars & Shooting Stars’
The Saskatchewan countrypolitan band’s latest album is a swanky retro delight.
Wolf Willow Old Guitars & Shooting Stars album artwork.
Anyone who’s followed my adventures in Americana for a bit knows by now I don’t claim to be an expert on the genre. My love of country and Americana may run deep and lifelong, but it hasn’t been very broad. In the past 12 months I’ve learned more than I have the previous 40-some years!
So when I heard the term “countrypolitan” used to describe the latest release by Wolf Willow, a prolific band that’s put out three other albums and an EP just since 2015, I thought maybe they’d coined the phrase. I soon found out what lots of you already know—that the term (and subgenre) actually originated in the 1950s with the likes of producer-musicians Owen Bradley and Chet Atkins. (But if you didn’t, you can learn along with me!) Also known as the “Nashville sound” (at least I’d heard that term), it was born of the industry’s desire to attain more mainstream appeal with a polished sound, characterized by lush strings and choral backup vocals.
I’d heard it and enjoyed it, of course—Patsy Cline is probably my favorite of the era—I’d just never known it had a name and defined style all its own until now. Not only is it an appealing and legit segment of country music in its own right, it also spurred the development of outlaw country and the Bakersfield sound. That push and pull between polished and rough, commercial and outsider, is one of the many creative tensions that keep country and Americana music so diverse and interesting, with something for everyone.
Wolf Willow. Photo courtesy of the artists’ website.
Now armed with some context, I dove into Wolf Willow’s new album, Old Guitars & Shooting Stars. What I found was a sound that builds on that basis of country with strings and chorus but brings in other aspects of music from the 1950s through the 1970s in surprising, playful ways, resulting in a fun, retro-pop collection of originals that instantly transport you to the past, whether it’s to a swanky cocktail lounge with a dance floor or to the ocean for some beach blanket bingo.
The first song on the album, “Lovers Lane,” bursts out of the gate with an unexpected surf-rock guitar and drum sound, although a chorus of oohs and ahhs soon ties it into the countrypolitan sound. It’s a high-energy way to kick off the party! This rollicking instrumental style appears one other time on the album, on the short but fun “Hot Lunch Special.”
All the other songs on the album are tied together by lead singer Mitsy Mueller’s smooth, sweet soprano voice, which floats along on a bed of strings, horns and drums that combine to create a retro soundscape ranging from honkytonk to Western swing to pop ballads.
Wolf Willow. Photo courtesy of the artists’ website.
The most “country” song on the record (and my favorite, surprise surprise!) is the nearly titular “An Old Guitar and a Shooting Star.” Opening with a clip-clopping tempo, acoustic guitar and pedal steel at the forefront, the countrypolitan soon swoops in with strings, horns and cooing choral backup vocals. This wistful song of lost love could have fit very comfortably in Patsy Cline’s repertoire, as could another track, “In a World of Our Own.”
“Heaven Didn’t Seem So Far” hearkens back to Bob Wills-style Western swing but dials up the swing and tones down the country, so it almost sounds like hot jazz—I could picture couples dancing at a swanky supper club. The trumpet solo and clashing cymbals add to the effect, yet the electric guitar manages to ride the line between jazz and country-western. Maybe the dancers have some fringe and sequin details on their evening gowns and suits if you look a little closer!
Wolf Willow. Photo courtesy of the artists’ website.
The breezy 60s-70s pop songs on the album are a lot of fun, too—their first single, “All I Can Say,” is a highlight that evokes an image in my mind’s eye of driving down a scenic coastal highway or Parisian boulevard with the top down. “Does the Sun Know?” is another sheer retro-pop delight with a similarly lush, dreamy arrangement and Mueller’s ethereal vocals.
All 13 tracks (I told you these guys are prolific!) on Old Guitars & Shooting Stars harness the magic of the 1950s-70s, bringing in country-western elements that are sometimes subtle and sometimes the star of the show. If you’re looking to sweeten up your playlist, check out Wolf Willow and lose yourself in some old-fashioned countrypolitan romance!
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the main music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym @taberkeley!
