The Bar Pilots - Hope & Anchor

The Bar Pilots debut album Hope And Anchor is a slice of vinyl going into stores around the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii, where the band now split residence between Rob Wessels (guitar and vocals) and Vince Adáme (bass/drums/vocals). The album features 13 compelling tracks, with a variety of influences, and drum duties split between Adáme and Troy Stutzman, and engineered by Tony Esperanza, also from Portland and contributing drums to The Bar Pilots as well. The sonic value Esperanza brings to the ship is a noticeable upgrade from the sound of their previous six singles released prior to the album, so the album mix is an improvement. Recorded at Black Diamond Studio in Portland, with help from Alex McDonald at the knobs. 

Hope And Anchor is one of those albums with an assortment of musical styles, and an overall Americana feel behind their usual 80s style songwriting and playing, so it contains a variety of rockers (In The Fall), some more heartfelt songs (Second Chance), (Back To The Start), (Lonely Rain), as well as energetic numbers (Lift Me Up), and a mix of groovy R&B tracks (What You See Is What You Get), and the fun-loving contagious (Kennadie). This is all surrounded by other great tracks, namely the frenetic instrumental rocker (Gotham City Punk) which opens the album with a sheer banger, and the weathered (Road Song) keeping their roots intact, after over a decade of playing around the Northwest region. 

Wessels and Adáme also both feature on lead vocal duties throughout Hope And Anchor, in an almost Beatles or The Cars blended their voices so well, sometimes you can't tell who's who unless you're catching them live at a show, and that's a testament to both musicians. Currently streaming up the platforms is the 90s hark number of the disc (Box Of Bows), which features Wessels in full cry giving his all-out best, reminiscent of bands like Matchbox 20. And the aforementioned (What You See Is What You Get) to be released as the next single to promote from this killer album that took years in the making. Tons of rehearsals and shows later it was finally put to vinyl on Memphis Record Pressing, with label facilitations by Von Artists Ltd., their Distributor via The Orchard/Sony and Alliance Ent. 

-Mr. Music (author)