Where does one start when talking about Philly folk rockers Good Old War?
Where does one start when talking about Philly folk rockers Good Old War?
In one sense, they’re a perfect embodiment of musical journeymen. They’ve released multiple great records, yet haven’t been able to “make it” despite other, less polished, folk rockers capturing the public eye even if just for a second.
In another sense, they’re a perfect example of the type of causalities the music world creates in 2015. They’ve lost a member due to the harsh life that awaits any musician and seven years removed from their debut record, they’re still hitting the road just as hard as ever.
Unlike other musicians who find relief in airing their grievances whenever possible, Good Old War is not letting these agonizing set-backs and jarring realities hold them back. Instead, they’ve found a way to let it fuel their creativity and push to make their sound as vigorous as ever, even if it requires more patience and determination than ever.
Good Old War’s fourth album, Broken Into Better Shape, is out now on Nettwerk and is the product of the band finally getting a break after all these years on the road and also adapting to being a musical duo instead of a trio. In 2014, original member Tim Arnold made the difficult decision to walk away as he found it harder and harder to leave his family behind as he traversed the country. Good Old War’s Dan Schwartz described Arnold’s leaving as heartbreaking, but also somewhat foreseeable.
“I totally understand it even though I don’t have a family. I’m married, but Keith [Goodwin] and Tim both have babies and they definitely do feel the strain of being on the road. I don’t have too much of a hard time doing it. We all love it more than anything, but it’s definitely is a strain to leave your kids for long stretches of time so it’s kind of hard to feel any type of resentment.”
The departure of Arnold definitely impacted the manner in which the now-duo approached their new record, but most of it was also influenced by the long break the band took from touring and the “normal” life they were able to experience for a change.
“I think it ended up being a reflection of the things we were going through as well as our family and friends. It wasn’t a road record like we’ve made before. We just wrote songs based off the lives we were living and the experiences that came from it. Whether it was Tim leaving the band or our personal lives changes, we just let our diaries become the album almost. That’s the way we’ve always done it, but we just had more life experiences that are normal this time around. We weren’t just on the road constantly while writing it.”
The band’s different approach to creating lyrics wasn’t the only new method they used while making this record. The band sought out to make their sound as full and robust as possible and tried everything to really push their compositions, even if meant creating sounds and layers that just wouldn’t translate in a live setting. It was all part of an intensely focused game plan that began the moment they stepped foot into the recording studio.
“We were extremely deliberate. We really tried to do it right. We always felt like we have in the past, but we just took a different approach this time around. We both really wanted to take the time to let each song have its own life. Really let each song have its own chance of going as far as it could in the direction we initially envisioned. We just produced each song individually as its own entity.”
The patient and deliberate creation of each song is what really makes Broken Into Better Shape stand out in comparison to Good Old War’s previous records. That’s not to say those records were done hastily, but rather as focused as you could get from a road-weary band just dying to get home. Their new record echoes their real life mental clarity in a way that even Schwartz himself admits will be hard to duplicate.
“There were a lot of factors that went into this. We had years and years and years and even years on the road so we needed some time away from that. That ended up giving us a little bit of time away from the band so it wasn’t our everyday life. With Tim leaving, we also had to re-evaluate things in regards to the band. All of those factors could never be in place again as we enter the studio which almost makes this a unique record in that sense.”
Still, with the bar raised on their latest record and with them hitting the road as a duo for the first time, it will be interesting to see how Good Old War moves forward from this point. We’ve seen a definite growth since 2007 from “Coney Island” to “Amazing Eyes” and now to “Tell Me What You Want From Me” and one thing is for sure – the band is hardly going to keep making the same music over and over again, even if its core is something fans across the country find little change within.
Good Old War plays The Broadberry this Friday night with Pete Hill and The Mason Brothers opening. For more information on the show and where to buy tickets, click here.
