The Wreckage
Artist: Will Hoge 
Label: Rykodisc
Length: 11/40:18
 

Out of personal turmoil often comes great songwriting.  At times, being forced to rest and recuperate gives us time to think, and to ponder, and to come to greater realizations of what our lives should be.  Is this what happened to Will Hoge after he was hit by a van one night while riding home from the studio?  Hard to tell.  But one thing is certain: The Wreckage is Hoge’s most insightful, and quite possibly his strongest album in years.

Some familiar Hoge themes are still present: relationship issues, life on the road, heartbreak, and heartache.  Hoge’s voice has become richer, and a tad deeper at times, more on line with John Hiatt and Tom Petty than on previous discs.  At other moments his trademark
southern blues rock vocals come through as true as ever.

“Hard To Love” illustrates the difficulty and work required to maintain relationships, while “Goodnight/Goodbye” portrays the end of another.  “Favorite Waste of Time” (title inspired by Marshall Crenshaw” resembles John Hiatt’s “Perfectly Good Guitar” musically, while reassuring bemoaning its subject’s realization that she views him much differently  than he would like.

“Where Do We Go From Down” is another story of trouble in paradise, while “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” is a forceful reminder of what pursuing dreams can cost, even while encouraging the chase.  “Too Late Too Soon” deals with the emotional wreckage that arises from yet another romance’s end.

Obviously, the listener doesn’t know how reality and poetic license intersect in these songs.  However, whether borne from personal tragedy or simply characterization, this disc resonates from beginning to end with an honest pathos that is common to all man, with an uncommon ability to make great music from it.

Brian A. Smith
20 March 2010