Over the course of a period of time, Chris Wollard (of Hot Water Music, The Draft, Blacktop Cadence, and Rumbleseat fame) and a gaggle of friends (George Rebelo of Hot Water Music sits in on drums on some tracks) recorded a batch of songs composed by Wollard that were basically front porch jams that got fleshed out into more realized songs. This album is the culmination of those hanging out and jamming on guitars sessions, and Wollard and the boys give them to listeners after deciding that they had fun with the songs. In all honesty, the concept behind the Ship Thieves is intriguing, some of Wollard's previous material could easily be envisioned as such as found on this album; but in some respects, this album is shocking.
Right from the start with straight up pop musings of "No Exception," the tuneful compositions come through like nothing else that Wollard has previously produced but kind of heard hiding underneath the crazy punk rock of Hot Water Music or the raw acoustic sounds of Rumbleseat. There is definitely a sense of familiarity in these songs with what sound like aural shadows of his previous work. And while the music is full of variation (the country inflections of "Reason in My Rhyme" and "You Always Leave" are nicely executed while "Oh, Whatever" is just a damn good song), Wollard's vocal performance seemingly provides the glue for the collection. The group of people that participate on this record definitely all put in top notch performances for each one of the tracks, which definitely lends a nice touch to every note and every noise that pours through the speakers. "In The Middle of the Sea" is one of my personal favorite pieces on the album (imagine if Micah P. Hinson wrote an acoustic song with Hot Water Music and then got Mark Lanegan to do background vocals); it is just a simple song, but somehow, the track just hits all the right notes.
Chris Wollard, along with the Ship Thieves, turns in an excellent batch of songs for this album. The smooth sounds are equally reminiscent of other projects of which Wollard is a part and completely fresh sounding, and these seemingly simultaneous qualities are what make this record so endearing on its own. And while I may personally pine for a new Hot Water Music and The Draft album, this album definitely stands on its own merits. Thankfully Chris Wollard is neither close-minded nor afraid to explore other sounds in his music, and as a result this record is quite good.
