Work Wife celebrate the release of ‘Parade’ with Sister. at TV Eye

On any given Friday Night in New York, there’s a ton of great options for the live music enthusiast. No exception on November 14th, Cindy Lee playing Brooklyn Paramount comes to mind. As does catching Mary Lattimore’s long overdue Lincoln Center debut. Heck, Billy Strings was playing the big arena just across the Hudson in Newark. But nothing caught our attention quite like celebrating two of the year’s best records at TV Eye in Ridgewood.

One is a record we’ve talked about here, Sister.’s Two Birds. It was our first time seeing Sister. since the release of the record. The trio of Ceci Sturman, Hannah Pruzinski and James Chrisman really brought the songs from that record to life, and played some other tracks from their repertoire. Pruzinski and Sturman occasionally swapped spaces and instruments, a visual example of the collaborative nature of Sister. It was a perfect opener for this show.

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Then, it was time for Work Wife, and you’d think maybe me, the dude who showed up way too early to the gig would be the most stoked, but up front were singer/guitarist/songwriter Meredith Lampe’s parents. Hard to beat that, really. But that was the theme of the evening, a celebration of the community that Work Wife has grown in. Many shout-outs to audience members, whether they were producers, friends, or the chance-encounter art director for their new record, there was so much of the force behind Work Wife in the room. In addition to their typical lineup of Lampe, Isaac Stalling, Cody Edgerly, and Kenny Monroe, they also had two other member join them, a guitarist and violinist.

We were all gathered to celebrate the release of Parade, Work Wife’s latest record, released just two weeks prior. And it’s a stellar record, worthy of such a celebration. It kicks off with a stellar one-two punch of “Community Garden” and “Big Parking Lot”. They set the record’s folky-tone, with some acoustic guitar, banjo, and Lampe’s inviting voice. “Big Parking Lot” occasionally wanders into distorted territory, but it stays grounded with some great harmonies. “Oh Man” is driven by a great bass line and brushed drums and is among the record’s more upbeat tracks. “Boiling Water” is where the distortion finally bubbles over, slowly, but it gets there with some charming vocal delviery.

Then there’s a change in tone, things get electric with “When I Got Over You”. Its opening moments with synth providing a perfect complement to Lampe’s voice. The folkier sounds from earlier rejoin, but they’re concealed within a dreamy haze, and it’s fucking incredible. “Lemonade” also has a hazy feeling to it, not in Lampe’s crystal clear voice, but from some warped electric piano, and lush harmonies as Lampe shares a way less dreamy picture with her vocals. “Pretty Cool or Kinda Lame” is a big leap for Work Wife, some pre-programmed instruments, Lampe repeats lines, and it’s a great standout on the record, and sets up its final three songs up really uniquely.

“Centerfold” is an impressive vocal performance, again underscored by this dreamy soundscape. “RV Parks” is a straightforward folk track mostly featuring Lampe singing over acoustic guitar and a hint of drums. The record comes to a close with “Sinking Boat” which takes so much of what makes Parade a great record and combines it into a fantastic closer. There’s some electronics, a great bass line, dreamy vocals, steel guitar with just a hint of distortion. It ends in a way that feels almost too abrupt, but it’s an indication and reminder to cue up “Community Garden” and spin Parade one more time.

Yeah, you’ve been tricked into reading my thoughts on the record. Sorry. Okay, let’s get to the show now that you’ve been briefed on Parade. The record is phenomenal in its recorded form, but live, there’s such an energy. Just watching Stalling work his magic with his lap steel guitar alone added so much to the presentation of these songs. The dynamic drumming of Edgerly was impossible to ignore, along with the steady bass-work of Monroe.

The set featured almost all of Parade, besides “Pretty Cool or Kinda Lame”, as well as some older tracks. Lampe originally said she was going to cut back on chatting, but as the night progressed, she shared more about the record and the people involved. At the end of the night, the audience wanted just a bit more, and the band obliged, with a legitimate encore, one song they wholly intended on scrapping as it required a bit of work to pull off, but for the appreciation of everyone in that room, Lampe unplugged her microphone, ran it through her effects pedal, and launched into the finale.

The energy in that room was something I wish I could just bottle up. A mutual appreciation between artist and all those in the room. To release a record like Parade is years of hard work in the making, not just the writing, the production, recording, art, etc, but it’s the experiences and moments that lead you there. Some obviously difficult, but to get to this point has to be so rewarding for a band like Work Wife.