Corbin Murdoch and the Nautical Miles
Wartime Love Song

Steeped in sweet melancholy and lyrical charm, Wartime Love Song, the second album by Corbin Murdoch and the Nautical Miles, enchants its listeners with an extended-concept love song.

The song gives voice to characters in wartime longing for family overseas, speaking of their dreams, hopefulness, and satisfaction, and their fears of destiny in a world so far from home. They rise in the end to a call for active engagement and “a revolution with a happy ending”. The album length song moves seamlessly from tracks of sorrowful introspection (“I know what you mean. It’s so exhausting having dreams.”) to the shouting of mass-action protest chants (just check the gang vocals on the chorus “Fuck that, we’ll take it to the streets!”). You just can't walk away from choruses like "when the war comes home", but even single words delivered with Murdoch's peculiar phrasing work their way into memory: grandmother, sister, teach us, war, love, revolution, dreams.

With a mostly mellow country groove Corbin Murdoch and the Nautical Miles keep us nodding, swaying, and sometimes rocking along. The backing vocals of Jess Hill and Debra-Jean Creelman are powerful, sensitive, and an excellent compliment to Murdoch’s charming, rootsy twang. The horn arrangements, drawing elements from anthem and dirge evoke the past with an artistic flourish. This is an album that stands apart for its honesty in execution, graceful arrangements, and superior lyrical content. Posted: Jun 23, 2009