Unplugged Wynia goes dark, bluesy

At a Floater show, fans don’t dance so much as bounce up and down frenetically.

For close to two decades, Floater’s live performances have drawn crowds of 40-somethings and their teenage kids to the dance floor to let their freak flag fly in a cross-generational sea of human pogo balls.

But when the lead singer of the Portland prog-rock mainstay is on his own, Robert Wynia’s music is more down to earth.

While Floater’s live set is electric in every sense of the word, Wynia’s solo set is all acoustic-based, more in the hue of Johnny Cash – dark, bluesy, bordering on spiritual.

After several years of quietly crafting his more personal songwriting style, Wynia has finally revealed it this year with the release of his debut solo album, “Iron by Water.”

Lyrically there are discernible similarities between Floater and Wynia’s solo project – it’s still him writing the songs – but aurally, the two use palettes that are worlds apart.

Unlike the odd time signatures and scathing sounds of Floater, “Iron by Water’s” 13 tracks all feature voice, acoustic guitar and drums, with varying amounts of accompaniment by a cadre of friends and musicians from around Portland – brass and string sections, organ, electric guitar, even a marching band drum corps for good measure.

The heart of the material on “Iron by Water” was born out of an acoustic guitar sitting on his lap after Wynia relocated from Portland to the outskirts of Boise, surrounded by rolling hills and a thick of trees, where he would often lose himself in his music.

The album’s seeds were sown over the years when Floater’s manager became enamored of the band’s acoustic set, encouraging them to indulge that side of their sound. As Wynia explained on his website, www.robertwynia.com, “The Floater records were heavily influenced by playing in venues where people are bouncing up and down.”

The album derives its name from a song lyric with a cryptic dual meaning, Wynia said.

“When you forge iron, when you finally dunk it in water, it’s the thing that makes it strong. But when iron is exposed to water, it’s the thing that makes it corrode,” Wynia states. “What a great example that it’s not true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger but actually that the thing that makes you stronger also kills you.” 

Incidentally, “Iron by Water,” is also an anagram for “Robert Wynia.”