Frontier Ruckus (from the album On the Northline

Frontier Ruckus (from the album On the Northline

Frontier Ruckus (from the album On the Northline available from Sitcom Universe) (by Danny McCloskey)
Delivering Folk music that contains the fullness of a big production is a golden ring circling the wheel each time a tune is created. The secret is an unknown, the men and women behind the pen quiet about the process, if they themselves even know the answer. While the ‘how’ cannot be taught, it can be heard. On the Northline, the recent release from Michigan-based Indie Folk outfit Frontier Ruckus, is an album of songs that go beyond the perceived notions of Folk music.  The use of melody and characters present the cuts contained in On the Northline stretch the soundscape without compromising a Folk singers sense of respect for the songs. Opening on a slow trudge, “Swore I Had a Friend” rolls out a sad ending on a funeral march as Frontier Ruckus become the wedding DJ at the “Bloomington Mariott”, hear the approach of a lovers “Mercury Sable”, and sing “The First Song for Lauren” backed with a lone guitar.
The observations of lyricist Matthew Milia create relatable characters walking along melodies that suit that song. Of the album title, Matthew Milia shared ‘On the Northline was inspired partly by the North Country of upstate New York—where the Thousand Islands pepper the St. Lawrence Seaway—and where my dad's side of the family somehow landed from Sicily in the early 1900s. Once an industrial boomtown, now marked by Amish buggies tied up outside of Price Choppers (upstate NY and New England grocery chain), dilapidated bowling alleys, and weedy putt-putt golf courses where the tourists have long-since stopped summering. It's my second-most visited source of inspiration for all that is equal parts glorious and grim’. Conversational vocals and warm harmonies soften the harsh realities in the storyline when the title track points fingers while determined acoustic chords strum an edge into “I’m Not the Boy” as Frontier Ruckus put questions to “Magdalene (That’s Not Your Name)” and sway to the rhythms crossing “Clarkston Pasture”. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen and buy the music of Frontier Ruckus from AMAZON
For more information, please visit the Frontier Ruckus website