 | Album Title: The Flame in the Flood |
| Record Label: Ten Four Records | |
| Catalog No.: N/A | |
| Release Date: February 4, 2016 | |
| Purchase: Download on iTunes |
Overview
Boston-based dev studio Molasses Flood is a self-described collection of “AAA refugees.” Its staff have played parts in the development of the BioShock, Rock Band, and Halo series. The studio’s first title, The Flame in the Flood, has therefore been met with somewhat steep expectations; players expected polished gameplay, art design, and—you guessed it—a fetching soundtrack.
To help apply a unique musical sheen, Molasses Flood took a chance on American singer-songwriter and guitarist Chuck Ragan, who, outside of scoring a short film, is a newcomer to media-based scoring and composing. That said, Ragan’s been embracing the stage life since 1993, and is credited with four studio albums. In my opinion, it was a decision that paid dividends.
Body
Whether you’re familiar with Ragan’s music or not, you probably already guessed that The Flame in the Flood‘s soundtrack isn’t full of MIDI beep-boops and soaring orchestral sections. It’s a Martin-guitar-centric, romping folk fest that spotlights Ragan’s rough, emotive voice. The album is peppered with instrumentals, but this is very much a standalone album apart from the game; as a studio release divorced from a video game, it might be panned for its simplicity.
The instrumentation features a full band, with Ragan on vocals, guitars, and harmonicas; Jon Gaunt on fiddle (or violin, for you traditionalists); Joe Ginsberg on upright and electric bass; Todd Beene on pedal steel, percussion, and backing vocals; and David Hidalgo Jr. on drums. Guest musicians Mitchell Townsend, Adam Faucett, and Joe Snodgrass are also featured on various tracks. Appropriate to the tone of the music, the album was produced in Grass Valley, CA.
The titular opening track, “The Flame in the Flood,” sets the stage for the tone, timbre, and feel of the rest of the album. To be clear, I was expecting an all-instrumental album, so when Ragan first entered, his voice took me completely off guard (in a good way). A baritone that starts off smooth but finishes with a bite like Kentucky whiskey lends an almost rock’n’roll distortion to the otherwise percussive strumming and legato fiddle fills. The track opens, vamping in a folksy minor mode until Ragan makes his vocal entrance—singing of backwaters, fables, and silence.
If the track’s catchy chorus, “Keep my eyes opened / Keep my ears sharpened / There’s nothing to fear / But fear itself / Oh desperation / Chasing horizons / In the flame
