The most concise  way to describe musician Izaak Opatz is “well-experienced,” but, like his razor-sharp songs, there are deeper details to his life that deserve to be highlighted. Opatz is now back in graduate school at the University of Montana studying Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism at the same school from which he earned a degree over a decade ago. Between his two distinct periods of study, Opatz spent ten summers on a trail crew in Glacier National Park and a stint working in Jonny Fritz’s infamous Los Angeles leather shop. All that is to say, Opatz’ music draws on his “well-experienced” life. (Izaak Opatz, 2021)

Opatz has a new song entitled “Chinook Wind,” a clever comparison between an attempt to get back with an ex and the false-summer warm wind of the Rockies. A catchy, reverb-y guitar hook gives way to a rollicking verse punctuated by stabbing horns before giving way to a half-time feel change in the song’s chorus. Fans of country and Americana will be just as likely to enjoy “Chinook Wind” as those who lean more indie rock or experimental, perpetuating Opatz’ hard-to-describe but easy-to-listen-to style, one that Opatz and his band have dubbed dirtwave. Watch the music video for “Chinook Wind” now and check out Opatz’ op-ed with Talkhouse covering his already-mentioned history and much more at this link. “Chinook Wind” is out now on Mama Bird Recording Co..

“Between the occasionally Muppet-y background vocals and the yackety brass, this song has some ‘Flea Bag’ to it, which suits the wild-goose-chase-of-the-heart it describes. A chinook is an unseasonably warm, dry wind that pours down the east side of the Rockies at the end of winter, sometimes tricking trees into thinking a premature spring is upon them, leading them to pull the sugars from their roots and get ready to bud out, which hurts the trees when winter inevitably reasserts itself. As per the metaphor, I ‘thawed out my resistance’ at the prospect of getting back together with my ex-lover, only to get dinged when it became clear it was a one-off— just a chinook wind.” – Izaak Opatz

On the music video, Opatz says, “Featuring an abundance of sweat, tears, and cream cheese, ‘Chinook Wind’ is the brainchild of Michael T. Workman, who turned my meteorological phenomena-inspired song about a romantic head fake into an absurd, pulpy crime caper, set in the gritty underbelly of Missoula, Montana.”