Off-the-beaten path: Wonderlick “Goes to War”

Wonderlick “Niagara Falls, 1969”and “Rhinoceros”

Woody Guthrie famously scribbled “This machine kills fascists” on the back of his acoustic guitar in 1943, but can musicians truly offer any effective resistance to rising political strife in 2025? ‘Wonderlick Goes to War’ is an attempt to answer this topic by the California duo Wonderlick (Jay Blumenfield and Tim Quirk). The 11 songs investigate the incredible true stories of human accomplishments, as well as the terrible depths to which they can descend, and attempt to connect the dots between the triumphs and tragedies. The album is due in early August.

Produced by Dave Trumfio (Wilco, Built to Spill), it opens with the pounding rhythms of “Niagara Falls, 1969” about how the famous Falls were drained for five months to allow engineers  to remove unstable debris. Visitors flocked to observe the falls in their dry form during this event. The song chugs along, the quirky lyrics include the things people found (coins, skeletons, etc.) and it all feels a bit like a lost Taking Heads tune with its repeating chorus.

Next, “Rhinoceros” is a deliberative analogy about how people who know can harden their political opinions against others, and charging like an animal against others that aren’t “one of us.” The song plods along with the duo harmonizing in distinctly different tones. The lead vocal is almost a warble, but the duo makes the song work with it’s harmonies and a very straight forward guitar line that reminds me of REM. Both songs have hooks that catch you and overall, these two tracks showcase the musical skills of Blumenfield and Quirk, and if you are looking for pop off the beaten path, check out the album!