Say what you want about Jonathan Franzen and his novel Freedom: the guy knows his alt-rock trajectories. Richard Katz, one of Freedom’s main characters, ages—somewhat gracefully—from indie-rock idealist to heartfelt country rocker as his hair goes gray. You don’t have to look around too hard to see real-world examples, either: Hot Water Music’s Chuck Ragan ago gave up his hoarse shouting in favor of acoustic strumming for a time, and Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar ran through the entire cycle over the course of a single album with Uncle Tupelo.
Still, there’s something particular poignant in Shadwick Wilde’s particular take on the story. The Quiet Hollers frontman spent a little time as guitarist for Iron Cross, the long-running Dischord Records agitproppers whose protest punk probably won’t be making its way into presidential debates any time soon. Political punk is inherently idealist—or else totally fatalist—and it’s hard not to think of the sludgy, half-time pounding of Wilde’s former band without thinking of a machine perfectly happy to be stuck in its particular rut.
So even though “Cote d’Azure,” the lead single from Quiet Hollers’ forthcoming self-titled LP, begins with a downcast take on the “Be My Little Baby” beat, it still feels like a kind of catharsis. “Last night I was dreaming about the Cote d’Azure,” Wilde sings. “And though I wasn’t sure where you were, it was a good ole time for sure.” Like all good country songs, “Cote d’Azure” traffics in the area between hope and desperation, with Wilde both admitting the present’s limitations while singing in a big, bright voice about the future while the band behind him turn peal their guitars downwards. Give it a listen below.
Quiet Hollers track list
“Mont Blanc”
“Liar Song”
“Côte d’Azur”
“Summer Song”
“Flood Song”
“I’m So Abhorred”
“No Good”
“Midwestern”
“Departure”
