The album opens with the choral fanfare and raucous two-step of "Sleep Before I Wake." Pinky Weitzman, John Frazier, and Mason Brown's voices weave back and forth between harmonizing and answering one another above a driving rhythm section and punctuating guitars before closing with a phrase from Weitzman's poignant viola. The band also took the name of their tour, "Red Roaring Water," from a line of this song. "Sleep Before I Wake" gives way to Weitzman's lilting alto over the Americana-tinged waltz of "November 3rd." The gents join in on a lushly harmonized chorus before letting Weitzman's bow do the talking for a bit. A short but tight little ditty.

 

Steampunks listening for found and repurposed instruments will enjoy the percussion on "Tabor Island." And with the chant-like backing vocals, Brown's soaring lead, and a toe-tapping beat, there's plenty for everybody to like. And do I detect a fleeting melodic quote from Sting's "Walking in Your Footsteps" near the end of the tune? A nice Easter egg for the observant music nerd. "Thanks A Lot, Lancelot" pulls at the strings of my anachronistic heart. A straight ahead rock and roll tune about the Arthurian love triangle? Yes please. Combine that subject matter with Not Waving's trademark trio vocal harmonies and you've got a winner. Lots of fun.

 

Pinky serenades us again with the early New Orleans jazz two-feel of "Windowsill," complete with clarinet, banjo and trumpet. If I may be so bold, I suggest that her voice evokes overtones of a very polished Amanda Palmer in parts of this tune until the instruments crank up the double-time and take us out. The aural casino scene intro of "Station Light" fades into a raunchy, bluesy groove, with Weitzman's voice smoldering over it all until they reach the bustle of the "no bets please" section. An interesting contrast. "Sing to Me" starts out with a merseybeat-style waltz before throwing us a changeup with the bass ushering in a driving Americana-infused punk duet between Weitzman and Brown before returning to the waltz and building back to the punk section.

 

"The Mission's" 11/4 odd meter latin groove comes across naturally, no easy feat. Nor is Weitman's string work, Frazier's vocals, or the guitar solo. "Tiger Hunting's" slinky groove is reminiscent of Duke Ellington's treatment of the "Arabesque" movement of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker and soothes the unsettling tale of an Indian hunting party, imperialism, and hubris. "Long Short Walk" is a sprightly textured 5/4. It's refreshing to hear a pop-oriented group take risks like experimenting with odd meter. I find the result in this case to be uncontrived. Some songwriters try to force a tune into an odd meter but this one takes to it freely.

 

The sparse, light texture of "Willow Garden," combined with it's eerie vocals give it an interesting effect. It cleanses the pallet before the rowdy-yet-dirge-like waltz of the title track that closes the album. 

 

If you enjoy music that draws directly from the roots of American music from the turn of the 20th century, if you want to hear that roots sound influencing more modern styles like punk and rock and roll, or if you just enjoy lovingly crafted pop songs, Not Waving But Drowning’s Processional is for you. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and catch them next time they come through your town if you have a chance. You won't be sorry.

 

(My apologies to Mason and John if I mixed up who's singing where. You both have lovely voices.)

 

Professor Dimitri von Stadberg is the  singer/bassist for Atlanta-based steampunk band The Extraordinary Contraptions.

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