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For Burlap Wolf King, honesty is the best policy
Singer releases raw emotion in first full-length cd
By BryAnn Becker
bkbecker@argusleader.com
published: 04/23/09
The honesty on Burlap Wolf King's debut full-length CD, "The Middle," reminds one Aberdeen musician of classic artists from the 1960s and 1970s.
Music this original doesn't happen very often today, says Martin Lien, who helped record the album.
"There is no pretension. It's great simple, straightforward music," Lien says.
Burlap Wolf King plays a CD release show with Roman Ships and Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo at 9 p.m. Saturday at Nutty's North.
Thomas Hentges, 27, the lead writer and singer of Burlap Wolf King, wanted to produce an album full of honesty. Thus listeners may get a sense of raw emotion, stemming from what Hentges describes as a rough year where both his father and fiancée were diagnosed with cancer.
"You can feel that in the songs," Hentges says. "There's not stability. There's a lot of questions, growing pains. I really wanted to make sure I could be honest and upfront as a songwriter."
Hentges recorded with backing band The Smoke and Mirrors Band.
In the eight-minute long track "Waiting in the Middle," Hentges talks about class differences and the definition of social class.
The song is an expression of Hentges' own situation. He identifies himself as someone who lives below the poverty line and says openly, "I certainly don't consider myself elitist."
The album title alludes to not only being in the middle of society, but also to being in the middle of the country and of life.
"We're in the middle of the country, in the middle of the world," Hentges says. "I'm also in what I've envision as the middle of my life."
Hentges points to "Howlin' the Blues" as the track that best represents his overall sound. Lien agrees, calling Hentges' sound focused and cohesive.
The mix of blues, folk, country and roots is the opposite from what Hentges produced during his days as the former lead singer of the now-defunct Nodes of Ranvier. Hentges left the popular metal band in the fall of 2004.
While Hentges describes what he's doing now as "black and white" from Nodes of Ranvier, Hentges brought from the band an appreciation for lyrics. After all, even though Hentges himself admits he may have done more screaming than singing in Nodes, the words still were just as important.
Hentges wrote the song "Rowena" based off of the TV show series "Deadwood." The name of the main character is a tribute to the town Rowena and follows a love story set in a mining town. "It's my own tribute to that Old West element, the mysteriousness of the past," he says.
"Rowena" is the only song not based upon personal experiences, a decision Hentges made to connect more with his listeners. After all, Hentges' favorite artists are those who make him feel like he's not alone.
"My intentions were to put myself out there and hopefully (people) can get something out of what I'm doing, what I was going through," he says. "It's fairly universal."
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