Album Details

• Artist: Wino
• Album: Adrift
• Label: Exile on Mainstream
• Year of Release: 2010
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2011-01-10

Where do we begin to extol the greatness of Wino? The legend of Robert Scott Weinrich has been built not only on his pioneering work (St. Vitus, The Obsessed, Caravan) but also by his larger than life persona, one which, as this solo acoustic record suggests, has been more than fueled by booze, death and regret. “Adrift” is stripped down Wino, but no less intense or epic than when fronting seminal doom bands.

Wino’s acoustic style is fast country tone with weighted minor chords that echo some of Cash’s late work. “I Don’t Care,” “Old & Alone” and “Whatever” have an epic yet lo-fi feel that is riveting. While there are some songs (“I Don’t Care” and “Mala Suerte” in particular) that dub in some hard but lyrical electric solos, Wino’s acoustic handles both the pace and his creaky but defiant vocals. Defiant he is: he sings lines like “We can’t hide the scars on our souls” with conviction and honesty. His life lessons may not be poetic, but clichés are true when lived and we don’t like clichés because we like to think our lives are special. Wino sings of emotions and problems that we all have. His have stories have a larger feel because he has been on bigger stages than most of us. But “Adrift” shares the sad, pissed, hopeful ground of his fans, who ought to embrace this, as anyone fond of hard-edged acoustic honesty.

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