The Wanted - Strange Flight (2021)

On their new album Strange Flight, The Wanted return with another collection of honest and gritty roots music, infused with a spirit that’s at times darkly haunting, incisively witty, or just plain fun. It’s an approach the Toronto-based group has honed since releasing their self-titled debut album, which has tallied close to a half-million Spotify streams and earned them appearances at the Mariposa Folk Festival, Folk Alliance International, and the Canadian Country Music Awards.

For Strange Flight, The Wanted chose to raise their game further by enlisting production assistance from Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies, whose trademark sonic approach emphasizes live group chemistry. That was indeed the end result after the core trio of Natalie Rogers (vocals, guitar), Jeff Rogers (vocals, guitar) and Richard Henderson (lap steel guitar, vocals) emerged from the Junkies’ recording studio The Hangar with Strange Flight’s 10 tracks.

“This is a collection of mostly original material that has been road tested so we know they connect with our audience”, Jeff says. “But we can’t overstate Michael Timmins’s role in the process and the confidence he has given us to take risks and focus on finding ourselves and the right grooves.” Natalie adds, “The songs chosen for this album are a true reflection of how our sound has evolved over the last few years as a result of streamlining what each of us brings to the group, both as songwriters and performers.”

As songwriters, The Wanted largely adhere to folk music’s storytelling tradition, albeit with modern inspiration. That’s certainly the case with Strange Flight’s title track, a song Jeff wrote based on a disturbing dream Natalie had about a boy she once knew who committed suicide rather than expose the sexual abuse he’d experienced. “That song started really as a cry of frustration and anger at things in the past we can't change,” Jeff explains.
Natalie points to her song “Stand Up” as a plea for justice. “I cast the main character as a young woman who fights back against an abusive partner to gain freedom and safety for herself and her children. I hope the song is a call to all women to fight back against abusers.”

It’s tough subject matter to be sure, but that’s been the essence of blues and folk since time immemorial. Those connections are reflected in Strange Flight’s cover songs, the traditional “Wayfaring Stranger,” and Tom Waits’s “Way Down In The Hole,” which has become something of a “modern traditional” and provides a showcase for Richard’s slide guitar skills. His love of raw blues also powers his songwriting contributions to Strange Flight, “Fire And Gasoline” and “I Guess.”

Richard says “What I love about working with Mike Timmins is that he’s gotten us moving even more in that direction by adding a stronger rhythm and percussion presence. To me, it’s a much more modern sound, although firmly rooted in traditional roots sensibilities. The material has become edgier and is delivered with more punch.”

Indeed, The Wanted have grown by leaps and bounds artistically since forming in 2003 out of informal gatherings of songwriters centred around Toronto clubs the Cameron House and the Tranzac. It was a shared love of artists such as Gram Parsons, Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark that forged their bonds, and continues to guide them nearly 20 years later.

According to Jeff, “The beauty of The Wanted is we’ve never been afraid to cross genres or try something new if it makes the song work. I think our core strengths have been building strong melodies and harmonies that pay homage to traditions but aren’t afraid to branch out.”

There’s probably no better way than that to sum up Strange Flight. With this album, The Wanted firmly establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with, offering a musical experience that will appeal to fans across the roots music spectrum.