Independant (label)
31 May 2016 (released)
17 April 2016
Rob Reinhart has that hook-in-your-heart crack in his voice that keeps you hanging on to the end of each tale and the Salt Lake City songwriter has a few to tell.
Redemption and reconciliation are major themes throughout Modern Maze, the upcoming debut release from Night Marcher. In this iteration, he largely escapes the four-on-the-floor bar standards of his previous works and drifts off in to the ether to take stock of past transgressions. With recent legal troubles and strained relationships not so far in the rear view mirror, Modern Maze has adversity bubbling at the surface and yet the songs are laced with a cool as a cucumber wisdom.
The first act opens the album with perfunctory yet catchy rockers which are likely creative spillover from his other endeavour, heart and soul rock n' rollers The Weekenders. Snappy drums and persistent bass lines. Muscle Shoals deep soul. All tied together with Reinhart's signature quasi-falsetto.
Things really start to get interesting with 'Scars', a dreamy reflection on adversity. Reverb trails chirp like birds watching from the trees while brushed drums and meandering bass sway to and fro in the breeze. Listeners enticed by Jack White's most recent folksy foray will find the lilting roundabout vocal lines inviting.
Album centrepiece 'Mistakes' features a Peter Keys piano line that gracefully sticks and stumbles melding in to a washed out chorus. Urgent strings lend gravitas to another investigation in to past missteps. 'Chin Up' is a call out to a friend whose fate has not been as fortuitous as the author. A declaration of solidarity with an incarcerated former associate.
In the album's twilight, 'People are Screaming Jesus' is a thoughtful Sunday slow burn that builds to a grand finale, making it a perfect penultimate. With the closer, the album washes away with slinky picked acoustic, slow violin pulls and wistful oohs.
Modern Maze is a strong release, thoughtful and compelling. If Reinhart is confident enough to leave behind the rock standards and just go for the atmospheric angle, he will have tapped in to a powerful source and Night Marcher will have many poignant offerings to come.
