REVIEW: Society of the Silver Cross — Wife of the Sea (SINGLE)
Five years between a debut and sophomore release seems like an eternity in our modern musical landscape. Seattle’s Society of the Silver Cross, however, picks up with no perceptible loss of momentum or vision with their new evocative single “Wife of the Sea”. Their collaboration with neo-folk singer King Dude is the first in their series of Temple Hymns singles and sets the bar high for everything that will follow. Co-written by the Silver Cross core of husband and wife Joe Reineke and Karyn Gold-Reineke along with T.J. Cowgill, aka King Dude, draws from Indian influences, Americana, folk, and electronic music for a synthesis quite unlike anything else.
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Much of the arrangement revolves around the presence of Gold-Reineke’s harmonium, Joe Reineke’s 12-string acoustic, King Dude’s acoustic guitar, and drummer Mark Etherington’s tasteful playing. However, it doesn’t end there. Joe and Karyn incorporate two distinctive synth-based instruments into the arrangement. The Swarmatron is a truly one-of-a-kind synth that requires a car key to turn on while Folktek’s DrumScape adds another percussive layer to the piece. We hear Leeni Ramadan’s Shahi Baaja, an electrified Indian instrument, early on, and Karyn’s vocals provide crucial accompaniment for King Dude’s singing. The contrast of his near-talk vocals with her ethereal touches proves critical for the song’s development.
Strip away the unique instrumental choices from “Wife of the Sea”, and you are essentially left with an old-time folk ballad with an impeccable progression from one section into the next. You’ll be hard-pressed to identify any holes in the arrangement. The lyrics excel at first-class storytelling without spelling everything out for listeners. Hints of mystery littered throughout the text leave it open to interpretation for listeners rather than spelling things out in a literal fashion.
Society of the Silver Cross packs worlds of experience into a relatively brief running time. Four minutes and eight seconds provide them with the right amount of canvas to fill our imagination with the story of a man and his lost loved one without leaving us dissatisfied and wanting more. It strikes you as a song where the Reinekes and Cowgill shared a common vision for what they wanted it to do and the ability to carry that out without losing anything. Few songs can say that.
Even fewer can say that they leave you with such a deep impression. “Wife of the Sea” lingers long after the final notes fade and behooves you to listen again. You can’t underestimate the value of such staying power in a musical world where the transitory and disposable dominate so much of the sonic landscape. Society of the Silver Cross is more of a musical commune in miniature than what they are a traditional band, and it’s rare to hear such a complete aesthetic realized by modern performers. Yet they do. And they leave you eager to hear what they do next. Whatever it is will likely possess the same bewitching power as this gem.
Colin Jordan
