Billy Wylder – Strike the Match
Sand & Gold Records – 7 Septemeber 2018
Strike the Match is an excellent new release from the Boston, MA-based band Billy Wylder. A bit difficult to categorize, the band blends a fresh indie-folk sound with compelling lyrics to create a joyful listening experience.
Billy Wylder is led by musician/activist Avi Salloway, who toured and recorded with acclaimed Tuareg guitarist Bombino from 2013-2016. The “desert-blues” influence of Bombino is evident on the album opener, Great Blue Heron, a song that floats along gracefully over African rhythms. It’s certainly an album highlight, the video for which premiered on Folk Radio UK. It features guest vocals from Lake Street Dive’s Bridget Kearney.
The record settles into an indie/alt/blues vibe on Medicine Mama, a song with a clear message. Among other things he’s accomplished, Salloway has worked to bring Israeli and Palestinian youth together in dialogue. These lyrics are perhaps inspired by that experience, “The wheels keep spinning /in the patterns of the past/gotta let the skin die/before the new one can last.”
December 31st is more along the singer-songwriter vein. It’s a song about endings and beginnings and lyrically quite amusing – “December thirty first /and you feel like you could burst,” is just one of the clever lines. Be sure to listen to the whole song –there’s an unsuspecting “outro” where the band tears it up a little bit.
4th of July is a guitar-driven romp that breaks down into a sort of rap. Independence Day is celebrated as a highlight of an American summer, with a little edge: “round and round you’re turning/staring out at the bay. Uncle Sam always gets his way/on the fourth of July.”
There’s a sharp political message on this album – it’s socially conscious without mentioning names. Vital Signs is a good example, describing the desperate plight of a Syrian refugee. That message is clear in the lyrics:
Hollow home /refugee /your shadow /as real can be
desperate eyes/beneath the veil/we are broken/and we are frail
woah, fire/woah, water …across the sea/ to Sicily/Malaga
take mercy on me.
The mood shifts throughout the album. Till Your Well Runs Dry is pure folk style sing-a-along featuring the vocals of Krista Speroni. Moonshine features a desert-inspired distorted guitar solo laced over gentle strings and vocals. The song has “indie folk hit” written all over it.
She the Earth has an understated vibe, along with a strong message. “Mama, mama what have they done/the waters are rising, there’s nowhere to run.” The song segues into Nowhere to Run, an instrumental just looking for a movie soundtrack. The song fades away, like a whale swimming off into the distance, with distorted guitar battling strings and percussion until they come together in the final verse. Neat stuff!
No doubt, this album is deep and beautiful on countless levels. Certain aspects of this release might challenge novice fans, but the adventurous listener won’t want to miss it.