Klarka Weinwurm’s newly released full length album, Continental Drag, attempts to demonstrate a folksy ambiance with the precision and steady rhythm of traditional indie-rock. With lyrics resembling the scattered verses of Kimbya Dawson and endowed with an odd feminine huskiness, one is prone to think that the album fits the bill for a great listen. However, in what I have come to describe as “gloom country,” her work left me in a confused state of audio limbo.
Perhaps Weinwurm’s relocation to Nova Scotia from her native Toronto sparked a transition in the young artist’s creative flow. Her latest release strikes one as a cacophony of changes compared to her earlier work. The tracks fluctuate from catchy beats to overdrawn guitar solos; frin steady whisper singing to drowned-out lyrics–all the while bouncing back and forth between classical instruments, solid drums, and the ukulele. Weinwurm leaves you with the impression that she either wasn’t able to make up her mind musically, or struggled with the confidence to more directly channel a genre.
While I admire her chops in testing a broad array of instruments and vocals in the same compilation, the listener may feel lost amidst this collection of risky experimentation. There is a lot to work with in this album—but then again, there is a lot to work on as well.
I really loved this album. It grew on me after a few listens. The song-writing is excellent. I only noticed two guitar solos on the entire album and I didn’t find them drawn out. I wouldn’t call this “gloom country,” there is nothing country about this album in fact, maybe the one track with banjo could be called country, but I don’t think so.
My feeling is Meaghan Tardif-Bennett was having a bad day when she listened to this record. Maybe she was channeling the some negatively floating around when she published this piece on the anniversary of September 11th.
Keep making great music kids!
The second last sentence should read “Maybe she was channeling some of the negativity floating around when she was published this piece on the anniversary of September 11th. “