Washington, DC’s the Riverbreaks take listeners on a rousing cinematic journey on their second album, Wildfire. Releasing February 1, the twelve-song disc shows off the band’s engaging blend of alt-country Americana indie pop, referencing classic southern rock along the way. Produced by the Riverbreaks with DBs cofounder Chris Stamey, Wildfire was recorded in Chapel Hill, where lead singer and acoustic guitarist Ryan Bailey, electric guitarist Jesse Prentice-Dunn, keyboardist Andrew Satten, and violinist Neela Rajendra went to college. They are joined by bassist Drew Ball and drummer Kirk Anderson as they traverse the open roads of America, speaking up for marginalized indigenous cultures, fighting to save the environment, and falling in and out of love. Much of the album was written by Bailey in Costa Rica, an influence perhaps most evident on the opening song, “Wild Fruit,” in which Bailey sings about the Ayoreo, a Paraguayan tribe battling for survival, declaring, “You can slash and burn these woods until this land is clear / Until the creek beds are dry and the birds have disappeared / You can smoke me from the hills but you can’t bribe me to leave / You’ll never tame the lost ones and you’ll never take their spirit from me.”
The album also features sweet guitar wailing at the end of the visually evocative “Paper Moon,” an infectious organ groove that powers “American Sun,” a memorable riff tailor made for a Western movie theme in the bluesy “Corn Blue Night,” a touch of the Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” on “El Dorado,” and a jaunty bounce on “Waiting for the Rapture,” on which Bailey actually repeats, “I pray it don’t come.” Wildfire is like the soundtrack to an indie Western you’ve heard about for a while but have yet to see. You’ll get your chance this week when the Riverbreaks will be holding album release parties at the Kennedy Center on February 1 before making their way to the Living Room on February 2, where they’ll play at 7:00, followed by Tam Lin, NICKCASEY, the Ramblers, and Rocket & the Ghost. Be ready for a down-home celebration, as they explain on “Tell the Girls”: “Tell the girls to wear their dancing shoes / Tell the girls to show up dressed to kill / And the band will play too / until the night is through / until the light shines through.”