The beauty of the Wallflowers is that they function far beyond time. They don’t bend or yield to trends. Rather, they strive to be a classic band, crafting timeless songs that will still be fresh and relevant long after the competition sounds dated and quaint. The band’s sterling fourth effort continues along these lines, offering the listener a dozen pop-inflected rockers that stimulate the brain while also comforting the senses with familiarity. Frontman/tunesmith Jakob Dylan strides through contagious jams like “When You’re on Top” and “Everybody Out of the Water” with a firm, yet vivid storytelling style that will maintain longtime comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty (not to mention his father). The flaw in not being a trend-conscious band, though, is that they can be overshadowed by temporary grand-standers. As a result, a little extra marketing muscle will be needed in order to bring Red Letter Days to a properly large audience.—LF
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