Frank Renfordt of The Cumberland River Project, is a musical narrator who started at the tender age of ten years when his parents gave him a guitar. This early encounter would ensure he had a lifelong passion for music, plucking the bass in the local rock band RING during his teenage years in Hagen, Germany. Although he had to break for a career building and creating a family, the love for music never left Renfordt. He now has multiple streams online, with 3,414 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Frank Renfordt's latest, "When The Wind Picks Up," from his The Cumberland River Project, speaks to his maturation as a musician and songwriter. Fittingly, the song—a heart-on-sleeve dedication to his daughter's wedding ceremony—comes off as a modern country song that puts a smile on your face.
Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, the song opens softly, yet it is full of anticipation. Renfordt instinctively knows his way around a melody, as the chords paint a rich tapestry of emotion, drawing listeners in to hear a personal story. The introduction is inviting and intimate, like a hallmark of Renfordt's storytelling ability.
The flowers fall into a full-band performance as the song opens up. The switch from acoustic to electric is seamless, with Andrew Timothy's guitar work adding layers of depth and texture. The riffs are crunchy, lending a distinctive heft to the song's themes. How the acoustic and electric come together is a perfect example of how to balance simplicity with complexity, a trick Renfordt has mastered after decades of roaming the musical landscape.
The vocals by Easton Driver are stunning, and the lyrics are delivered with so much sincerity that they are powerful. His voice carries the weight of the song's emotive core, guiding it through highs and lows with ease. Complementing the vocal delivery is the drumming by Simon Röll, which brings up a steady and driving rhythm that leads this song forward. The percussion by Röll was quite accurate and with expression, adding a pulsating energy underlying this track for its rock influences.
"When the Wind Picks Up" is a powerful rumination of love, family, and the inevitable march of time. The words of Renfordt come with a ring of wisdom and introspection that catch the bittersweetness of the emotions of a father at the opening of another chapter in his daughter's life. This story is personal yet universal; it will strike a chord with anybody who has felt strong joy and melancholy regarding such life milestones.
The track's production quality is faultless. Each instrument and vocal line is balanced to perfection, and the mix is clean and polished, showing through intricate details.
"When the Wind Picks Up" is a seriously seductive addition to The Cumberland River Project's discography. This tune is a tree-top celebration of life's moments and the very reason music can bind people together.
It was a real treat to listen to "When the Wind Picks Up," a musical journey that felt intimate and expansive all at once. If you're searching for that one song that portrays the beauty of love and all the special moments one experiences in life, here is your shot. I wholeheartedly recommend streaming "When the Wind Picks Up" and experiencing for yourself the magic of The Cumberland River Project.