“We’re Gonna Have a Big Time” by Water to Wine

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The strings that welcome us into “We’re Gonna Have a Big Time” are deceptively simplistic in comparison to what we’re going to hear Water to Wine pump out in the next few minutes of this prime cut from their debut LP, but they nonetheless produce a seductive introduction that makes it easy to listen on as the song continues. Water to Wine’s countrified edge is rather muted in this performance in the name of giving the Americana aesthetic in their sound a bit more of the spotlight, but it’s not their presentation that matters as much as what they’re saying with their lyrics. Their verses are heartfelt here, and against a relatively simple backdrop, they establish a vibrant country crossover in “We’re Gonna Have a Big Time” that bewitches even those typically adverse to this kind of music.

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Instead of preparing us for the climax in the chorus with a lot of tension-building rhythm, the emphasis is always on the melodic trappings in this song more than it is anything the percussion is producing by itself. The drums are getting plenty of space in the mix to really captivate us, but it’s the vocal element that is shaping where the beat goes and, more importantly, what it’s going to say outside of the lyrical narrative here. In “We’re Gonna Have a Big Time,” Water to Wine wants to show us that they can tell a story via more than one artistic avenue, and to me, they did a fantastic job.

In all honesty, there could have been a lot more panache with the closing in this song, but at the same time, I don’t argue against keeping things simple where they need to be. If there’s one thing we’ve been seeing way too much of in mainstream country music over the last couple of years it’s overindulgence and a total lack of interest in efficiency, but Water to Wine isn’t looking to keep this trend up with the release of “We’re Gonna Have a Big Time.” If anything, they want to get back to the conservative basics through which this genre was created, and they’re doing so without having to take their sound back to the stone age. Rivals have tried as much, but none have succeeded the way this group is in their rookie LP.

Indie country music is where it’s at right now, and the consensus among critics has been that as fleeting themes remain, well, fleeting, it’s pure content like “We’re Gonna Have a Big Time” that feels poised for the greatest opportunities. Water to Wine has still got a long way to go, but the road they’re on is one that will help them with both the Americana crowd as well as the more conventional country music audiences that are always demanding something original out of the underground and mainstream at the same time. This is an example of their aesthetics without any filtration, and I like the identity it’s able to reflect for the band as a whole.

Trace Whittaker