Warm In The Wake’s AMERICAN PREHISTORIC is an epic 15 track song-cycle that leads the listener into a land of sonic adventure. Holding up the standards of their revered favorites gone before, the band hoisted their sails high launching into recording their compelling music that tells a creatively unique story. AMERICAN PREHISTORIC is an eclectic mix of analog soundscapes, cosmic harmonies and understated yet impeccable balladry; capturing the classic essence of a band working together on all planes to deliver a distinctive brand of magic.
The songs of AMERICAN PREHISTORIC emphasize Warm In The Wake’s talent for crafting radiant audio flashcards and rustic character sketches. The dust-bowl yearning of the opening verses from “Joseph Campbell” long for immediate attention, paving the way for the song’s blissfully captivating chorus. “Dark Gypsy Moth” playfully entices with its pseudo jazz-fusion delivery - never offering anything less than a flawlessly executed listen. The title track, with its tribal drumbeat and dueling analog synth squelches, is rooted by sweetly-sung vocals and a taste of trilling mandolin. At first listen, “Antique Knives” reveals a plaintively sung melody that eventually surrenders to a double-time brass band foot-stomping sing-a-long. “Devil With A Fist” is a country drive anchored by a golden, sunny piano and highlighted by a breezy, dappled harmonica. Leaving all convention and tame thoughts aside, Warm In The Wake have crafted a contemporary treasure with AMERICAN PREHISTORIC.
The band was raised in Alabama but now make their home and music in Atlanta, GA. Playing together on and off since they were teenagers, Christopher Rowell and James Taylor Jr. (drums) come from a rich musical past in Birmingham, AL. Rowell performed and recorded with Regia and members of Verbena and Taylor played with future members of the Drive-By Truckers. Brothers Daniel Barker (keyboards) and Andy Barker (bass) hail from Ft. Payne, AL and have shared stages with Kings of Leon and Willie Nelson.
In 1997 Chris Rowell moved to Atlanta and was joined by Taylor and Daniel Barker to form King Lear Jet. King Lear Jet released an EP and an album and enjoyed a modicum of success with songs licensed to several Fox TV shows (Felicity, Dawson’s Creek) a couple of PBS shows and the independent film Tadpole. With the line-up shift seeing Dan’s brother Andy join the group, the music took them in another direction – one that convinced the band to pursue their new incarnation in 2004 as Warm In The Wake and hit the road, growing their fan base.
As the line-up solidified, the band joined forces with Livewire Recordings and released an EP in early 2007 - GOLD DUST TRAIL. Receiving strong College and AAA Radio support, debuting at #10 most added in the country on CMJ’s Top 20 chart right behind Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible, the critically acclaimed release introduced Warm In The Wake to their new audience. Riding the strength of the EP, the boys headed into to Atlanta GA’s Vintage Vibe Productions with Livewire president/producer Colin Cobb (The Rewinds, Ashton Allen, The Winter Sounds) and mastered in London’s Abbey Road Studios by Steve Rooke (Paul McCartney, The Beatles, Wilco) in the spring of 2007 to flesh out the most important record of their career. Thus begat AMERICAN PREHISTORIC - now available to the world for sampling.
The American Prehistoric Rag...according to Chris Rowell –
A woman who has never seen the ocean, a fast food nation, the artist and the consumer, a walk by a TV display in a mall....showing Sadr City.... while eating a cinnamon roll, the hopeful future for a sweet little girl in an airport, a Love supreme, an argument at the quickie mart, Joseph Campbell, Darwin, and a Devil with a fist.
These are some of the informants for American Prehistoric...which has come into being “physically” over the last months at Vintage Vibe studio but has been brewing for the last couple of years in our live shows and everyday events we've culled from being Americans, and more importantly Humans. Sometimes I can't help but wonder how we will measure up on a time line with the Mayans, Romans, and all of the other great societies from our school history books. And while I don't think this necessarily bears a negative connotation, as a friend mentioned the title “American Prehistoric” implies, instead it just reflects a "matter of fact" curiosity. There are negative things we have to deal with (war, greed, prejudice), but these things have been part of every society as have the great things like love and hope. With these songs, I think we ended up with a reflection of different curiosities (American Prehistoric, Antique Knives, DNA...) juxtaposed with a lot of simple love stories as well (Over and Over, Dark Gypsy Moth, She’d Never Seen It...).
This was the band’s first experience recording all of the core instruments together live in the studio, so I think it allowed us to gel and get the sound of American Prehistoric closer to our live show. Our favorite ingredients of this record are the organic bits and pieces of music that create passageways of escape. We pulled sounds from about every synth available...Dan was like a kid in a candy store. I think there are some great atmospheric escapes in the instrumental passages that I hope people will enjoy!
