Album Notes

It took longer than expected, but when you hear the results, you may understand why. Edmonton’s Wilfred N & the Grown Men present their seventh studio album – Stop Go Romeo – likely their best release to date. It’s their first new cd since 2004’s well-loved Waiting For Luck To Come. And it has been 25 years since WNGM’s debut album “Riding Double” spawned the still popular “Sad New Day”.
Undeniably Wilfred Kozub’s most ambitious project yet, Stop Go Romeo reads like a trip through an ordinary person’s life diary, flaws and all. And what a trip. In the beginning, there’s the cautious optimism of “Don’t Worry (It’s Still A Beautiful World)” – a great song, by the way, and one that could strike a chord with radio listeners everywhere – with an uplifting vibe that belies its world-weary message. “There’s Nothing Wrong With Me” lures you in with a slinky shuffle and some of the most interesting lyrics Kozub has written to date.
One of the real gems on this album is “I Like To Go Fast” which finds Wilfred N & the Grown Men in a bit of a time warp. On this song, co-producer Nik Kozub (Shout Out Out Out Out) revamped the original drum track, bringing a new exuberance to the version that Wilfred originally brought into the studio. After the psychedelic “(I Love My) Bento Box”, you may feel guilty about ever eating sushi again. Sorry.
More than any other Wilfred N & the Grown Men album, Stop Go Romeo really IS an album. It’s a journey in two stages where the first half rolls along in pleasing fashion with a mixed-emotions pop vibe until . . . “You’re In Another World”. Then you ARE in another world as Kozub embarks on “Sugar Cloud”, an enveloping, spacey
electronic experience representing the real life sugar cloud ‘lost in the milky way’. (Google it!) And this piece recalls Kozub’s early days as an electronic music experimentalist when all he wanted to do was create something that would make the speakers shake in the car. “Stop Go Romeo”, the song, is a little epic, rising out of quiet reflection into an emotional flurry and back. “Darkness and Light” might be the real standout on this album. Again, a time warp.
Wilfred N’s team of grown men on this project includes original member Jamie Philp, longtime WNGM fan Clint Frazier, and producer Nik Kozub. Philp once again brings exciting and imaginative playing into Kozub’s songs, including some new exotic flavors via the electric sitar and the old world electronic guitar synth used on early Wilfred N & the Grown Men albums. Clint was enlisted as the drummer on the sessions, and Nik, who mixed and mastered the album, recorded his Shout Out Out Out Out bandmate’s drumming on Stop Go Romeo.
With an attractive set of infectious tunes and a degree of pop experimentation, Stop Go Romeo is an intriguing trip through time that could well become an indie classic.