The Reconstructed position themselves as the 21st-century heir to folk-rock, honoring traditions while eagerly defying them. But more than chord progressions or meter counting, their latest album, Great North Wind is more about feeling.
Fuzzy guitars, punchy drums and vocals that remain cool and controlled, form these dense arrangements that occupy every part of the mix. The Reconstructed bring jagged-edge attitude to hard-charging tunes like “Home Fires” and “Swing the Hammer, Free” and also offer moments of gentler ambient reflection too, with tracks like “Offline” and “Unfolds.”
Like slipping into cotton sheets, the music invites an immediate calm accompanied by this effortless tranquility that comes with each track. Great North Wind is the band’s most expansive and compelling project yet, proving their merit as a force of understatement. Together, they forge a sound that feels driven by a collective subconscious.
Their lyrics invite hunger for compositional progression and search for complex meanings; even when moving slowly, there’s no hesitation. There is a little bit of everything on the album, from poignant twists on love-song tropes to yearnings for intimacy that may seem untenable, listeners get to hear and feel the unexpected.
Emotional foes here are both internal and external—heartbreak, loneliness, or heartfelt temptations, the band approach these subject matters with frank acknowledgement, letting listeners experience these battles and figure things out as they unfold.
The Reconstructed prove to be a powerhouse talent who can perform the hell of out every track, making it easier for the audience to enjoy every corner of the album. And they possess the power to have a little fun with them, too. The transitions from introspection to outward-looking awareness is a subtle detail, but is what makes the album such an exquisite treasure.
