From the chants (“Yeah?” “Help?” Not sure) of “Sailing”, the opening track off this Juno nominated Toronto folk sextet’s sophomore LP, there’s a feeling of hope. Whether it’s a hope that they won’t get lost in a sea of other groups that sound like this right now or just a hope for a better tomorrow, is unclear. The vocal delivery is mid-level, as though it’s on auto-pilot. There are a LOT of chants (“Did I Die?”), while “In This Life” has the same damn foot stomp as that one song from all the movie trailers last year. Does it make the Strumbellas’ music any less sincere because it sounds like everything else on the radio? No, but the fact that these songs aren’t at all memorable because they take the easy route does make them forgettable. “The Long Road” and closer “The Fire” are interchangeable in terms of lyrical content and energy, even though one is upbeat and the other laid back. They’re good musicians, but so are a lot of people, and they do not stand out in a slew of superior boring folk bands.

Published in Volume 68, Number 8 of The Uniter (October 23, 2013)