Meaning of Life

Back after a long Pandemic, Wakefire is back and swinging with their new album, Meaning of Life. Their previous album, Midnight Circus, saw the band branching into a heavier though still eclectic rock sound, with original songs like “Castaway” and “Drunken Sailor” using soaring vocals and electric guitar to elevate their characteristic storytelling and maritime themes. You’ll get a taste of that on the new album – check out “Eye of the Storm” if you haven’t already, and take a listen to basically any track where Michael Padlo masterfully wields a drumstick – but Meaning of Life really gets back to the roots of Celtic traditional music that got Wakefire started.

“One of the cool things about Wakefire is that everyone is very talented.” says very talented bassist and vocalist Russ Turner, “We all have different influences and experiences that we draw from that influence the music we play. Bubba, for example, has a background in blues and classic rock. Myself, in a former life I played lead guitar in a metal band. Our last album, Midnight Circus, pulled heavily from other genres and definitely showed our rock and pop music influences. As much as we love playing around with different styles and mashing genres together, it’s been the Michigan Celtic scene that’s really taken care of us and nurtured us along since 2017. We wanted to do an album that acknowledged that and reminded everyone that we’re first a Celtic-inspired band.”

As a love note to the Michigan Celtic scene, Meaning of Life will easily charm fans of trad music with songs like “Lannigan’s Ball,” championed by Jared Cohn’s impeccable vocals and mandolin-wrangling, and “Eggies and Rye Bread,” the band’s highly dance-able mashup of John Egan’s Reel and John Ryan’s Polka. And of course, “Skye Boat Song” is bound to bring a tear to the eye and a happy dose of borrowed nostalgia.

Fans might be surprised by a rockin’ rendition of the song “Touch the Sky” from Disney’s tale of a spirited Scottish princess, Brave, that will evoke the beauty of the Old World in all it’s glory with vocals by Nessa Atherton-Moore and flute by Sarah O’Brien, and a flowing and complex rhythm held together by the band’s outstanding drummer, Michael Padlo. “Touch the sky . . was the song I had the most room to get creative with,” says Michael. “I never would have thought that a Disney cover would be my favorite Wakefire song nor one of my proudest studio accomplishments.” And he should be proud, because this song SLAPS.

Wakefire put this album together during the Pandemic, and you can hear it nowhere more clearly than in whistle-player and expert flautist Sarah O’Brien’s original piece, “Storm Warning” – a song she sings lead on with gorgeous folk styling. “‘Storm Warning’ is about a really specific feeling – being stuck where you are for the moment, but knowing there’s an opportunity to move forward after the rain passes. It’s a strange combination of emotions I’ve had after a couple of major events in my life, that moment of being patient while you wait to make a move you’re excited for, and I wanted to share that feeling with other people,” says Sarah. “I think that’s really reflected for us as a band right now, too, being so excited to share what we’ve been working on but having to wait for all the pieces to fall in place first.”

But the Heart of the album is absolutely the title track, Meaning of Life, written by the band’s singing, keyboard-playing, mandolin-wielding, jack-of-all-instruments, Bubba Wilson. “Bubba and I started singing together in the house while working it out,” says lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jared Cohn, “and it felt so natural and fun to be singing about happy things together. It feels like playing every time we play it instead of performing, and that’s my goal.”

Playing is what we’ve all been hoping for and missing this year, and Wakefire definitely can’t wait to be back to playing for all their fans. Slainte!