Jakob Dylan and The Wallflowers return after a nine-year hiatus with their distinctive sound, his unique brand of storytelling, and a style all his own. ‘Exit Wounds’ contains all the trademark Wallflowers qualities we have come to expect from the band; melodic hooks, driving guitar, and multi-layered lyrics.
‘Exit Wounds’ refers to the journey and pain people have been through in the last years, pain in relationships, and the baggage incurred. It’s also referencing Trump’s last four years in office, and the hurt and worry that all Americans on all sides have endured in those turbulent times. But there is a way out, and hope is present too, whether in individual tales or as a collective society. These are the exit wounds we all carry and hope to grow from.
There are a few bonuses to the sonic palette this time out too. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne lends her dulcet contralto tones on four tracks including a beautiful duet on ‘Darlin’ Hold On’.
Abandoned and locked out and pressed to the fire. Been tricked into thinking you’re the one that’s on trial. Backed into a corner you’ve been hung up to dry. If you’re there so am I. Darlin’ hold on. I am far but I’m not gone. Hold on.
The extremely talented Val McCallum provides extra melodic bite on guitar. Val – on loan from Jackson Browne – had his own album ‘Beau Bow De Lune’ released recently, and is well worth checking out.
But front and center, the Wallflowers are Jakob Dylan, end of. The album either floats or sinks depending on him. ‘Exit Wounds’ doesn’t just float, it sails. Majestically. This is lyrical rock at its finest.
There is the requisite amount of heartache, the ambivalence of burnout in a relationship that has lost its spark to be replaced by a tinge of regret and a lingering desire for it to grow again as in ‘Maybe Your Heart’s Not In It No More’.
I’ll carry you now. I’ll take us both on down whatever is left of the road. Easy come, easy go. Not leaving without you even though maybe your heart’s not in it no more.
Or perhaps the bitterness of having given all emotionally in a relationship only to feel that the growth involved has allowed the partner to leave and move on – so acidic yet eloquently expressed in ‘Roots and Wings’. A classic to add to the growing canon of great Dylan songs:
You were born to walk the earth with your back against the cold. You never had a purpose ’til I wore you on my back like a coat. You’re in your evening gloves. You’re off the farm taking big city drugs. No matter how far you get let it sink in. I gave you roots, baby I gave you wings.
Wow! Hell hath no fury like Jakob scorned. Dylan has made two excellent acoustic albums but his acerbic wit and biting lyrics really fly with the band around him.
‘Who’s That Man Walking Round My Garden’ could be Dylan’s general plea for standing up for rights in general, but given the song was written pre-American election it is hard to see the man in the garden as anyone less than the former President.
Each release from the Wallflowers has been what I want from an album; intelligent lyrics, set to music that rocks hard, with enough curveballs thrown in to keep you guessing. Contentious couplets set to music to move to. Great songs, without an inch of filler.
‘Exit Wounds’ is a record that ranks among their very best alongside the high watermark of ‘Bringing Down The Horse’. Nine years from the last album is a long time in rock. But ‘Exit Wounds’ is worth the wait!