Manitoba lies out there in the middle of Canada, just above Minnesota and North Dakota in United States geography. The land is mostly flat. See yourself on the edge of an expanse of prairie, the earth version of moon landscapes, but a lot greener. Standing there, you can notice that nothing is closing you in, space.
The Wilderness of Manitoba captures that feeling in their sound. Their notes are puffballs on the wind; the air fills with light flashes of music. As ‘When You Left the Fire’ begins life, the listener becomes part of day breaking over the prairie. As the opening tones and textures of “Orono Park” fill the air and ear, the sound rises like fog being burned away by the first light of the sun. A harmonica introduces the “Hermit”, releasing a tale that looks to the inside caves in which we remove ourselves from the world. Freckles of notes playfully scamper as “St. Petersburg” comes into audio range, sharp angles force and form a united barrage of an attack that sets “Summer Fires” alight and as the sonic climate changes, they reveal “November”. The band takes a slight diversion from the prairie for a trilogy on the water, channeling their inner deck hands for the shanty air of “In The Family”, maintaining the theme through “Sea Song” and “White Water”.
