Wired To The Sky - Steady Sparrow, Steady Flight

​Wired To The Sky

Steady Sparrow, Steady Flight
self-released; 2017

​4.1 out of 5 - TOP ALBUM

By Rebecca Rothschild

Make way for Wired to the Sky’s debut album Steady Sparrow, Steady Flight because they are making a mark on all the genres they touch. This music falls under a broad spectrum of indie rock, alt-country, to Americana and honestly, that’s just scraping the surface. Wired to the Sky is a Canadian born band with songwriter and lead vocalist Dylon Perkons leading the charge. When Perkons went to describe this album to us his said, “I won’t waste time your time with genres but I do believe we took risks and the songs are all the better for it.” I’m glad I’m not the only one finding it hard to put this music into a genre box. The risks are definitely what makes this album such a winner for me. 

​One of the big appeals is the journey between radically different atmospheres and moods. This makes sense considering Perkons had written these songs in a variety of homes and settings. There is a common, cohesive thread among all nine tracks, which always goes back to a traditional, rural sounding music. The album goes from lamenting, to hopefulness and sometimes to a deep, dark full-bodied moodiness that I really adored. “Meditation Blues” was my favorite cup of black brooding coffee.

On the topic of brooding, Perkons’ handsome baritone vocals had me eating up every word. He illustrates such mundane details and turns them into life changing events. He can also be very broad with his lyrics. Either way, he sticks the landing every time. It would not surprise me to know he is classically trained. He has great control over his muscles and can just haunt your dreams with a single note. It’s beautifully morose and heavy.  

I imagine one of the reasons we get such a variety of genres, all executed very well, is because there are many musicians on board. Beyond Perkons, there were eight other musicians bringing their flavorful touches to the album. I am sucker for strings, and Laura Mina Mitic brought a bitter sweetness with her violin work. I also felt Dave Thomson, who was on the bass for most of the album, did a fantastic job across the board.

When it got to the indie rock side of things, the percussion was really given its moment to shine. Kathryn Calder had her hand in a lot of tracks, bringing in instruments such as the piano and organ to the mix. With so many cooks in the kitchen it is so easy for things to get out of hand but that didn’t happen. Instead everyone’s work melded together, and the listener gets a nutrient rich stew of excellent song making.

The icing on the cake is definitely the production team, which was obviously paying close attention to what they had in their hands. The album was engineered and mixed at The Hive by the album’s producer Colin Stewart. Everything was mastered by Stuart McKillop at Rain City Recorders. I want to congratulate Wired to the Sky on Steady Sparrow, Steady Flight. This album is gorgeous

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