Luther Wright’s New Album Has a Split Personality

Luther Wright’s new album, Hearts and Lonely Hunters (produced by Hugh Christopher Brown) breaks rules and defies categorization. The first half is a pop/rock blend of synth, keys, and fuzzy electric guitars. At Track 8, the album switches to bluegrass and rootsy alt-country, complete with upright bass, banjo, pedal steel, and fiddle. The unconventional approach is not really a surprise, considering Wright’s claim to fame is Rebuild The Wall (2001, Universal/Backporch), his ballsy bluegrass interpretation of Pink Floyd’s The Wall that even received Roger Waters’ blessing. 

Although the album is split in two, common threads of heartbreak and humor weave through it. The lyric-forward vocals are at times emotional and heartbreaking, such as “Broken Yesterdays”, where the narrator explains why he “married her instead of you”, and the aptly named “Heart’s For Breaking”. They can also induce laughter and dancing with songs like “Elvis”, Wright’s ode to The King, sung in the style of Zappa and accompanied by a sparse synth. Halfway through, the tune takes a breath and explodes into a screeching guitar solo, showing off Wright’s punk roots (and humor) from The Mugworts years.

Wright lends his multiple talents to the album with his clear, high vocals, guitars, bass, synths, percussion, and banjo. Sarah Harmer provides most of the backing vocals, and their beautiful harmonies ring clear on the first song, “Black Mark”, “Comeover and Jam”, and “Northern”. Harmer and Wright have worked together for a couple of decades, starting out as members of the band Weeping Tile. The rest of The Wrongs include: Cam Giroux (drums), Dan Curtis (slide), Sean Kelly (bass/vox), and guest musicians Burke Carroll (pedal steel), Megan Palmer (vox/fiddle), Jason Mercer (banjo/double bass). A handful of other artists helped out on individual songs and are duly mentioned in the liner notes.

Hugh Christopher Brown, Wright’s producer for Hearts and Lonely Hunters, split production time between The Post Office Studio on Wolfe Island, ON and at Green Door in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to producing, Brown’s melodic keys are heard all over this album. Wright speaks of his decision to create this album with Chris at the helm:

Wright: Chris and I have been friends for 20 years or so and have organized many shows and tours together as well as recording on a variety of each others projects during that time.  We originally met in Toronto when he was part of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir and they took Weeping Tile on our first Canadian Tour which turned out to be their last big tour before they moved to New York City and eventually parted ways.  Chris and singer Kate Fenner stayed in the city and made their debut album as a duo, “Other People’s Heavens” after establishing themselves on the scene there. Weeping Tile took them on their first Canadian tour as a duo soon after, and we have continued to contribute to each other’s musical endeavors to this day.

This album was born out of a tour we did to the Yukon a couple years ago where we were doing music in the schools during the day and playing the taverns and bars at night.  So we were digging pretty deep into the catalog of songs and discovering things about my delivery that he felt, as a producer, I hadn’t captured on any of our previous albums. He has a rustic studio on Wolfe Island across from Kingston, Ontario where we beavered away on the project for a year or so until we have what we are listening to today: Hearts and Lonely Hunters.  

Aplscruf: What was your rationale behind the genre split on the album?

The vinyl listening experience. Side one, then side two. These were the songs I wanted to record, and as there was an even amount of rock and country it seemed only proper to sequence it like that. And it is a bit of a nod to Neil Young’s classic album American Stars & Bars which is two different sessions and feels on each side, and which I have worn through two copies over the years playing the shit out of it.

Some serious musical magic seems to be flowing out of the Post Office studio on Wolfe Island, including a debut albums from David Corley and Suzanne Jarvie. What makes it so special to record there?

It is a magical place in its own way, but I think the musical magic you speak of comes out of Brown. Given the appropriate equipment, I’m sure he could capture it wherever he hangs his hat. That said, getting musicians over to an island with limited access to outside distractions is always a good thing. We have both recorded in big city studios, which is great for take out food and such, but walking out the door on Wolfe Island and wandering by the lake or through the farm fields is perhaps more inspiring than hacking butts in the industrial parking lot of a city studio. No disrespect to city studios intended. In fact for rocking punk music, I kind of enjoy the angular, bunker atmosphere that they can offer. And the take-out food options and wine selection cities have are generally much better.

Seven years since your last studio record?

Seems like a long time when you say it like that, but in that time I recorded a live album with my friends The Jack Grace Band from NYC and was busy producing albums for other Kingston based artists, as well as the fabulous Rusty Ford’s debut album. Not to mention playing piles of shows with the Wrongs or as a duo/solo act. I had demoed about half the songs for the album in that time and when Chris and I got together we used the demos as a base for a bunch of the material. Hence the omnichord and cheesy casio parts that made the final cut. Sometimes when you are demoing songs you try out crazy, spontaneous things that end up really speaking to the song in a way that careful consideration and expensive equipment might not allow.  

You worked with The Holmes Brothers on “Front Porch” the first song on Side 2. Tell us about that experience, and the loss of two of their members this year.

I had met the Holmes Brothers at Stan Fest in Canso, Nova Scotia back in 2002, but Chris has been friends with the brothers since his days in the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir and was planning a recording session with them in Virgina around the time we recorded Front Porch. Initially is was just gonna be me on banjo and maybe we would add Tony Scherr on bass, but once we started talking about back up vocals Chris thought that he would bring the tune down to the session and see what the brothers thought about it. As you can see they did indeed dig the song and sadly Popsy [Dixon] passed away soon after the session, so it may be one of his last recordings, which is bittersweet. Wendell [Holmes] passed not long after, so it is quite an honour to have these legends of soul/gospel/blues on what may be the best roots song I’ll ever write.  

I’m always curious how artists stream their songs. What is your music-writing process? Lyrics first? Melody? 

I could say a bunch of plausible things to that and maybe your readers would think, “Wow, that guy is deep.”  Honestly, I have no idea where songs come from and how it is I do it.  I know sometimes a melody or lyric comes out of a situation and hopefully I write it down or record it quickly (cell phones make that easier!). But there are times when we are jamming and a whole song comes out, and the band looks at me and says what I am thinking, “What the hell was that?”. There’s a bit in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy where he is learning how to fly. The trick is don’t think about it at all and it may happen.

You used Indiegogo to offset the costs of production. Is crowdfunding the only way to go these days for independent artists?

I wouldn’t say it’s the only way to go but it is a great development that allows the artists to connect directly with fans and offer a straightforward way to contribute to a specific  project. For us it made it easier to absorb the initial recording expenses and get product and merchandise made in a timely fashion. Also, it helps create excitement about the album as it is being made, so you have a bit of head start on publicity when the album is ready for release. 

Any details of the pre-release party at Toronto’s Cameron House scheduled for November 25 you’d like to share? 

It will be a blast. Original line up of the band plus guests. We start around 8:30-9 and will play the album, then piles of our hits to get the party into overdrive.

Check the link for the pre-release party on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/425599180968331/

What’s next for you? Are you planning a larger tour any time soon? Another album in the works?

We are concentrating on getting this album out there and looking to tour primarily in Europe next year as well as hitting the festival circuit here in Canada if we can get that organized. 
There’s always another album in the works but that’s not a priority until we can see that Hearts and Lonely Hunters gets its proper due.  
www.lutherwright.com
https://www.facebook.com/Luther-Wright-651855241587626/

One of the teaser songs for the Indiegogo campaign was “Comeover and Jam” an up-tempo rocker that begs us to dance. The lyrics reveal a bittersweet message, asking us to renounce the truth for a little bit. It hits home with the world’s recent tragedies raging around us. Just take some time out and enjoy life.

Support the independent artists who venture to your city and play in small clubs and venues.  Support quality music.