When Hot Water Music called it a day last year, three of the band formed The Draft, while HWM’s singer Chuck Ragan went solo. His country-tinged acoustic work culminated in live album ‘Los Feliz’ earlier this year, which went down pretty well with fans even though it’s obviously a departure from what his former band are famous for. While Ragan’s vocals are still distinguishable, his new guise is completely different; from gruff, aggressive punk rock songs with passion and emotion sweating from every pore, the new tracks are a lot more balanced, ranging from the Flogging Molly-esque ‘It’s What You Will’ to the slightly more sedate ‘The Boat’.
And while you can’t doubt Ragan’s passion and energy, even when he’s on his own, for me this record just doesn’t stand up to Hot Water Music – or The Draft for that matter. Despite the eclectic edge which this release has – there are all kinds of instrumentations, making this more full-band solo project than Chuck-on-his-own at times – I’ve never been a fan of country music and this release certainly has that influence. ‘Do You Pray’, for instance, has it’s roots in country, while ‘Geraldine’ starts but never really gets going. And while Hot Water Music could dig themselves out of a musical hole with their power and energy, Ragan often finds himself with nowhere to go, time and time again referring to a mouth organ to try and jazz it up, Springsteen style.
An interesting side-step from his former band, for me Chuck Ragan‘s first full length studio album is a bit of a disappointment. It’s not bad per se, I just feel like it’s washed over me slightly and I doubt I will be returning to this all that much in the future.