Sled Island Music Festival
What I found was a sound that builds on that basis of country with strings and chorus but brings in other aspects of music from the 1950s through the 1970s in surprising, playful ways, resulting in a fun, retro-pop collection of originals that instantly transport you to the past, whether it’s to a swanky cocktail lounge with a dance floor or to the ocean for some beach blanket bingo.
For some reason, I keep associating the songs on Old Guitars & Shooting Star with movie soundtracks. Perhaps it’s the orchestral sound, but there are songs on the record that would work in a Tarantino movie, whereas others would fit perfectly in a classic Western, and still others in a James Bond flick. Wolf Willow are a guilt evoking kind of band for not listening to this kind of music more often.
https://addtowantlist.com/index.php/2021/10/18/new-album-wolf-willow-old-guitars-shooting-stars/
The songs possess wonderful warm textured layers that are rich and vivid. Wherever you believe music is drawn from by songwriters, Wolf Willow is tapped into that very place. Each member shares the same passion and voice in their music, making them one collective force, creating sensational music. If you want to take a trip back in time, but would rather do it from the comfort of your home, vehicle or sunroom, press play and be whisked to a time of comfort, ease and tranquility.
https://www.cupsncakespod.com/pick-of-the-week/2021/10/26/chad-vangaalen-wolf-willow-and-shad
The opening track, “Lovers Lane,” is bursting with energy, and possibly the first opening number on any album I’ve enjoyed this year that has truly stopped me in my tracks, with its super sixties surf rock sounds – I mean, what more could you ask for? Oh, you want some timeless charm too? Okay, check out the soothing romanticism of “My Tears Fell Two By Two” and “In A World Of Our Own” if you are seeking some lovely slow numbers that combine lush instrumentation with vintage flair.
https://greatdarkwonder.com/snappy-snippets-e-p-lepp-wolf-willow-the-garrys-jane-mathew/
Lovers Lane, the instrumental opening track on OLD GUITARS AND SHOOTING STARS, sounds like it was plucked from a Tarantino soundtrack. With its early ‘60’s Tornados vibe it signposts the retro feel that inhabits this charming album from Saskatchewan, Canada band Wolf Willow.
www.lonesomehighway.com/music-reviews/2021/11/22/new-album-reviews
Old Guitars & Shooting Stars doesn’t just stick to one thing. Amazingly, Wolf Willow jump around in sounds and atmospheres with deftness. Some of the songs favour strings and chorus sections (including some work from The Garryaires, aka, Erica, Julie, and Lenore from Saskatoon’s The Garrys), but you’re just as likely to hear some Ventures-style guitar boogie, Les Paul swing, and even some Gram Parsons cosmic country (including a phasered steel guitar).
www.thefeedbacksociety.com/music/wolf-willow-old-guitars-shooting-stars/
Saskatchewan’s Wolf Willow is an intriguing proposition. Tagging their sound as “countrypolitan,” their latest single “Does the Sun Know?” is a lush, twangy, and sophisticated existential emotional ride. By casting the sun and moon as opposing forces. They are rivals in the sense that each yearns for what the other has while oblivious to that longing.
https://dominionated.ca/newsletter/beautiful-things-happen-october-2021/
A country vibe definitely beats as the heart of this tune, but I was not at all prepared for the sensory overload brought on by the accompanying instrumentation that blasts from my speakers. The song bursts from the gate with hot horns, a conga groove, and the almost doo-wop themed backing vocals courtesy of the ‘Garryaires’ (Lenore, Julie, and Erica of The Garrys), with interplay between the traditional electric guitar twang and Mitsy Mueller’s soft-spoken, upbeat vocals.
Great Dark Wonder
Old Guitars & Shooting Stars will bring together the different sounds from their previous releases; striking a balance between countrypolitan romance, orchestral instrumental soundtracks, and western swing. The album will touch on themes familiar to those growing up in rural areas of the prairies such as: leaving home to work in the bush camps, living by the news of crops and the weather, and often being miles away from anywhere or anyone.
Cups N Cake
Swelling horns, dynamic string sections and slick finger pickin’. Mitsy Mueller’s ethereal and character-filled voice would make the likes of Neko Case and Jenny Lewis proud
Cups & Cakes / Greg Torwalt / Best EP’s (*or Mini-Albums) of 2019
The musical arrangement hearkens back to the countrypolitan style of the 1960s, when Nashville producers like Owen Bradley started applying the string sections of 1950s pop music to country music.
Leader Post / Ashley Martin / “Wolf Willow saints Johnny Cash in new ballad”
From the Northern Great Plains of Saskatchewan, Wolf Willow plays original country and western inspired by honkytonk, Western swing and countrypolitan retro sounds. Wolf Willow both stretches and upholds the retro-country tradition as they have played festivals (Ness Creek ,Gateway, Break-Out West) and tour dates across western Canada. After receiving a Western Canadian Music nomination for Visual Media Composer of the year, Wolf Willow has spent 2020 preparing a new full length album for release on October 15 on Grey Records!
