Print, Reviews August 1, 2018

Single Review: Gingerbomb – Wildfire

by Kevin Johnston

Getting any band together is a challenge. Getting a 5-piece, all-redhead band with members from New York, Denver and Los Angeles together is an accomplishment.

Colorado songstress Megan Burtt has wrangled such a group, aptly named: Gingerbomb. LA via NYC producer/drummer Ryan Vaughn and engineer/multi-instrumentalist Zach Berkman along with Burtt, vocalist/keyboardist Sara Dee and bassist Casey Sidwell join forces for the project with a maturity that defies any red-headed stepchild jokes critics might conjure.

Claiming themselves as the first all-Ginger musical outfit in history, the folk-pop songwriter-supergroup plays a Colorado double-header on August 11th. Kicking off the Bohemian Nights New West Fest in Fort Collins at noon that day at the Library Park Stage, they play a listening-room appearance at The Walnut Room in Denver later that evening.

Colorado folk-fans searching for a fix in the wake of, say, Paper Bird’s break-up will find solace in the cozy harmonies and layered vocals present at every turn in “Wildfire,” Gingerbomb’s lead single. Burtt calls the tune a testament to “female empowerment – celebrating someone who walks her own walk.” Fiery though the subject may be, the soft, zydeco buzz of harmonica (or is that an accordion?) beneath the acoustic guitars balances the theme like humming cicada high in the late-summer trees. 

“Wildfire” has all the sway and charm of a fireside sing-along, winning us over with one of Burtt and crew’s slickest tricks: making hard work and dedication to the songwriting craft appear effortless and entrancing. Released today, August 10th, catch a first listen here:

We advise catching ‘Wildfire’ and Gingerbomb’s full set at one or both of their Colorado shows on the 11th. Based on the prowess of their members alone, their live execution of vocal harmonies and rock-solid feel should prove not to be witchcraft, but the real deal.

After a string of shows, the band plans to release their debut full-length in early 2019 – which, by the way, is beautifully done and has a few rocking Americana twists on par with their NYC peers Lake Street Dive. In the meantime, “Wildfire” is worth repeated spins.