WonderCurrent is a musical collaboration featuring the talents of J.J. Beson and Dave Dvorak. It is a mostly acoustic collection of folk songs, which hearken back to the folk music revival of the ‘60s. It features strong singing and strong songs, which should create a nice, nostalgic buzz for those who fondly recall that era.
The album’s general theme, in our overly complicated contemporary world, is decidedly focusing on the important stuff of life. In fact, one song is titled “Things That Matter Most,” whereas another is called “Things You Cannot Measure.” In other words, don’t sweat the small stuff, but instead pay close attention to issues and situations that are of the highest importance.
One acoustic guitar-driven track puts it all into proper perspective. Named “Pale Blue Dot,” it focuses the listener’s attention on how essential it is to take good care of our environment. It is, after all, “the only home we got.” Yes, we may send citizens to outer space one day, but when that citizen might be Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, well, maybe sending them to a faraway planet or star might be a good thing. “I doubt we’ll miss ‘em all that much,” its lyric states.
Although folk music is the primary style this pair explores, “Things You Cannot Measure” takes on current issues/problems applying a loping reggae beat. In addition to its chunky electric guitar rhythm, there are also some nice organ fills on it.
These guys sing with older voices of experience. The tone is one of ‘we’ve seen a lot of life, so we’re qualified to comment on the goings on.’ Piano and organ replace six-string playing for the hopeful closer, “Seeds of Hope.” Yes, the world can be a dark and seemingly hopeless place, but we must continue to search for signs of life to contrast with “all that hate and violence” this duo mentions in its lyric. The analogy of planting a garden is applied to make a place to sow these seeds of hope. One can whine and complain about the state of the world, or one can plant seeds – seeds of hope. These guys believe in doing the latter, “because our best is still ahead,” they tell us, to end the song and the album.
The opener, “Things That Matter Most,” is another one that incorporates tasty acoustic guitar playing, as these voices of experience kick in. While they admit to having tried to ‘run the race’ to win, ultimately, it’s not about winning any sort of race. Instead, it’s about making the best of the short time we have on this earth. Isn’t it sad how we don’t usually realize what matters most until we get older? You can try and tell young people this, but they’re too busy trying to figure it all out on their own to listen to an experienced voice of wisdom. Nope, most of us learn after years of attending that school of hard knocks.
ONLINE
https://www.wondercurrent.com/
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Not everything is politically/socially motivated on this album. For instance, “Mona Lisa Smile” uses that famous portrait to help describe a beautiful person. Whether issue-oriented or not, though, this self-titled album is all good.
-Dan MacIntosh
