The Ocean Wide—by Montreal-based, Quispamsis-rooted collaboration Sussex—is a great production. Not just great in the way we applaud a good effort, but well-thought, balanced, enjoyable for casuals and lifers—great. From beginning to end it exudes care and attention to detail.
Sussex is the brainchild of renowned songwriter Rob Lutes and vibraphonist Michael Emenau. The duo are in fact childhood friends, and played together in a band back in their days at Kennebecasis Valley High School. After the inevitable post-secondary separation Lutes went on to become an award-winning roots singer/songwriter, while Emenau carved his own accomplished path in percussion and jazz composition.
Knowing this story tells you a lot about what to expect from Sussex and the Ocean Wide. The record is inescapably rooted in the meditative wonder of rural New Brunswick, yet at every turn its tasteful complexities reveal a more than casual flirtation with jazz music. Oh, and the track “Kite Strings” is a straight-up swing.
No song in the album has haunted my attention more than “Renous Highway”. I have a soft spot for songs that follow sprawling, hard-to-predict motifs, and Renous delivers. Its verses have that quality were it seems like a line is started mid-melody, and the song follows with twists, turns, and resolutions that seem obfuscated if at all there. It’s a challenge to write truly original music within a genre. I find “Renous Highway” a remarkable success in this sense.
The production is near flawless in terms of technique, and wonderfully rich in its aesthetic. I had to circle back and double-check that the record in fact features no drums. Instead, the rhythm is expertly punctuated with muted guitar strums and double-bass (at times slapped, I believe). The result is a record whose rhythm foundation never drops, even when you can barely hear it. This is best appreciated in faster tracks like “Caught in a Flood” and the infectiously fun “Don’t Wanna Wait”.
Lyrics carry the mark of seasoned roots songwriting, staying close to the ground and mostly skewing away from overworked poetics. The best folk instead finds its poetry in ideas, and Lutes brings some inspired ones to the table. “Someone Who Knows” explores the simple truth of shared experiences; no matter what you are going through, “…there’s someone who knows how you feel”. It’s a powerful concept because suffering can make us feel so alone, yet logic dictates we aren’t. Far from it in most cases. The opening track, “Everything I Wanted”, gifts us with a straightforward “I got everything I wanted and the only thing I wanted was you”. And for a little more acrobatic writing I enjoyed the curvy “She calls you honey, your jokes are funny. Then she reminds you, she was only in it for the money”, from the dark corners of track 3: “Lookin’ For Trouble.”
As it should be expected in a record featuring three fully instrumental cuts, musicianship is on high display all over “The Ocean Wide.” Lutes is perhaps as well known for his remarkable finger-style guitar and banjo work as he is for his songs; great folk arpeggios, swing, and blues slide permeate the record. Emenau offers a great complement with his understated backing play on the vibes, which often act as harmonic padding triggered by tastefully placed phrases and excellent note choices. Soloing is sparse and largely limited to the winds. A rich variety of instruments are present in “The Ocean Wide,” and all playing is at minimum a match for Lutes and Emenau’s work. The recording of these instruments is clear and nuanced, produced to make great use of ambience and combined in a variety of ways that complement the record’s broad dynamic range.
Lutes’ voice drives the record with his raspy and airy delivery. His range mostly stays in the mid to low register, and melodies cover everything from wide intervals to the type of almost conversational cadence most Canadians associate with Leonard Cohen. This works to create great emphasis at the times where the vocals confidently reach for the high notes, like during the uplifting key change in the titular “The Ocean Wide”, or the consistently bright and optimistic “Don’t Wanna Wait.”
All in all The Ocean Wide makes for an easy recommendation and a great listen. It really is one of those rare “something for everyone” records.
Tour Dates:
12.04.19 – Montreal, QC
02.06.20 – Longueuil, QC
02.07.20 – Châteauguay, QC
11.29.20 – Salaberry-de-valleyfield, QC
03.28.20 – Coaticook, QC
04.04.20 – Val-morin, QC
04.16.20 – Shawinigan, QC