It was just a little over a year ago that the Wrinkle Neck Mules released what I believe was one of the best records of 2006 with their sophomore album, Pull the Brake. Pull the Brake, in retrospect, almost seems like the record the band needed to make. Pull the Brake picked up considerable radio airplay and helped raise the band�s profile as the Mules toured extensively up and down the East Coast while making appearances at last year�s SXSW in Austin, as well as festival stops at Summerfest in Milwaukee and Rhythm and Roots in Bristol, Tennessee. Now as I listen to The Wicks Have Met, I get the feeling this is the record the Mules wanted to make. With a new record label (Lower 40 Records) and miles of hard earned touring behind them, this is without a doubt the strongest and most assured Mules record to date.
With a sound that falls musically somewhere between that of Blue Mountain and the Gourds, the one thing that the Wrinkle Neck Mules have no problem doing is banging out stomping, country tinged rockers. The five piece ensemble featuring front man Andy Stepanian on acoustic guitar, Chase Heard on guitar and banjo, Brian Gregory on bass, Mason Brent on mandolin and electric guitar (just to name a few), and Stuart Gunter on drums kick off The Wicks Have Met with a rumble on the album�s opening cut "Bells and Whistles". Stepanian�s vocal is a growling, rawer version of Jay Farrar�s if you�re looking for comparisons and Brent�s mandolin and electric guitar work are simply stellar from start to finish.
The album�s best cuts come in the form of a trio of songs beginning with the steel guitar-infused "Cadillac Limousine" with banjoist Chase Heard on lead vocals. It�s one of those dusty road, leaving songs with a taste of country-shuffle heartache added for good measure. Lyrically it�s one of the record�s strongest numbers with Heard�s vocals giving the song a troubadour feel in the vein of a Robert Earl Keen or Hayes Carll. Chase is back on vocals for the outstanding back porch pickin� groove of "Cumberland Sound", which highlights the band�s bluegrass leanings as the mandolin, guitar, and banjo take the center stage for a toe tapping beauty that bounces around the brain long after the final refrain has died away. And finally, we come to the album�s biggest highlight within the swagger and sway of "Ringing in the Days". The steel guitar returns to whine and wail, the drum beats crash and fall, and the band just rolls it out in a way that makes you close your eyes, raise your beer, and stomp your feet. But that�s not where it all ends…suddenly there�s that moment in the song�s final minute that just tops it off as the Mules blend a vocal harmony that is just a piece of magic. It�s reminiscent of a country-rock sound that makes me think of a 60’s era New Riders of Purple Sage or the Flying Burrito Brothers during the Gram Parson�s years. Take a listen yourself…it�s Cosmic American Music indeed!
All in all, somehow the Wrinkle Neck Mules have managed to raise their own bar. Their growth as song writers continues to develop by leaps and bounds and the music and production are as a tight and clean as ever. These guys have found a sound that is whiskey soaked, wrapped in smoke, and kicks up a trail of dust like an old pickup truck hauling ass down a river road. The Wicks Have Met is a brilliant statement for a band that is just startin� to put the hammer down.
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