Wake Owl are one of those difficult to categorize artists in terms of are they a band or are ‘they’ actually a ‘he’? As far as I can tell all the songs are written and performed by Colyn Cameron but he enlists the help of numerous other to make his songs, making them in actual fact a six piece. Whether a ‘he’ or a ‘they’, Wake Owl are an addition to two collections: yet another fantastic folk act from Canada, and (more specifically) another great artist from Vancouver (joining fellow British Columbians such as Dan Mangan, Japandroids, Said the Whale, Black Mountain etc.).
Their debut release, ’Wild Country’, is a 5 track EP of rather energetic folk music which is a cross between the story telling style used by songwriters and a more message driven style more characteristic to rock music. The outcome? A seriously interesting EP that is just as at home on your jogging playlist as it is on your headphones in bed at night. If forced I would label them a hybrid of Jurado/Mangan songwriting and The Head and the Heart’s folk rock with an added dash of energy reminiscent of the Rural Alberta Advantage. That said, I in no way want to pigeonhole them as clones of any sort, their sound warrants repeated listens on it’s own merrit and I fully recommend you do so.
Wild Country is available on a ‘pay what you can’ basis but as stated on their Bandcamp page, all donations will fund and sustain future musical output.
If you are lucky enough to find yourself in Canada at the end of March Wake Owl are touring with Bahamas across the country, stopping in plenty of cities along the way. A full list of dates is available here.