Prodigal Punk.  

In 2005 Firewater leader Todd A. left this country in disgust. Newly divorced, with George Bush just re-elected and his record company bankrupt, the politically charged songwriter set out to visit, as he puts it, “the countries my country was bombing.” With just the clothes on his back, a guitar and a laptop, he was robbed, beaten, almost kidnapped and nearly died from an intestinal illness. He diverted his travels to India, Pakistan, Turkey and Israel. Using a single microphone, the laptop and local musicians he recorded the album, The Golden Hour.

Firewater’s first five albums feature a rotating collective of musicians of which Todd A. is the lone original member. Their music has had eastern European influences but The Golden Hour is the ultimate fusion of American rock and World Music. With a voice that sounds like a cross between Tom Waits and Joe Strummer, Todd A. provides a vivid travelogue of his dramatic trek and the loneliness of an American out of his element. The sound quality is pristine and shows no sign of the language barrier or the field recording techniques that must have hampered his efforts.

The lead off track “Borneo” outlines the reasons for his departure (“you got a monkey for a president.”) “This is My Life” steels his resolve for the trip (“this is no joke, this is my life.”)  Politics and travel observations make up the rest of the album before it concludes with two homecoming songs “Weird to be Back” and “Three Legged Dog.” All of it, performed to the accompaniment of indigenous musicians and instruments, some recorded around a tribal campfire.  It’s not the kind of vacation you would plan for yourself but an unforgettable musical experience.   

Listen for songs from the album The Golden Hour by Firewater all this week on Paul Shugrue’s new music show “Out of the Box” on Hampton Roads public radio 89.5 WHRV Mon. through Thurs. from 7 to 9 p.m., Sat. afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m. and on-demand at www.whrv.org/outofthebox.