Wild Child Displays Growth with New Album Fools
On Friday, Austin, TX band Wild Child released their third album, Fools. It's a welcoming display of maturation as the band expands their sound from an acoustic, indie-folk duo to a fuller, seven-piece ensemble highlighted by a jazzy brass section and a new-found prominence of percussion.
The band's first album, Pillow Talk, was a front-porch ukulele singing-of-the-woes session. It was quaint and charming characterized by delicate strings, nostalgic harmonies and a conversational, stream-of-consciousness lyrical flow.
Could you rid your devils?
Could you stay and settle down just to pass the time with me?
Kicking off the promotion of this album was the title track, "Fools," followed by "Bullets," both of which veer toward pop and expand upon the elements of "The Runaround," a song from their second album by the same name. These songs display an upbeat tempo, a focus on percussion, and more lyrical structure in comparison to their earlier work. With that said, they don't abandon their original sound. Rather, they build upon and broaden it.
A track that exemplifies this growth is "Stones." It begins with Wild Child's trademark sound of ukulele strumming with lead singers Kelsey and Alexander harmoniously recounting their story in a colloquial manner. Then with the introduction of piano in the second verse followed by the brass section that comes in for the bridge, the song gracefully transplants us from our small-town bungalow to a smoky jazz club tucked away in the shadows of a New Orleans nightclub, perhaps? It's a gorgeous song that seamlessly blends the band's original sound with its new approach.
Tear it down. Feel it burst.
If this is, we'll only feel worse.
Can't forget that we were friends.
If you decide these are just words, baby, you and I will never learn...
On first listen, there were two songs that stood out for me: "Meadows" and "Break Bones."
"Meadows" is a creaky, melancholy song for a fragile walk through the autumn woods; the air crisp, the trees barren, mirroring the nostalgia within. I absolutely love the piano-driven bridge and the discordant phrase played under "Left all these questions in my head." It reminds me a bit of the carefully-crafted cacophony of San Fermin's latest album, Jackrabbit.
The other is "Break Bones," the ballad that was bound to reel me in. From the opening chord progression, to the heartbroken lyrical content, to the chorus punctured by percussion and upbeat horns, this song is a peek into the success this band can achieve even when they lay down the uke.
I've see this band live twice thus far and they are an absolute hell-of-a-good-time. I'd say top 3 live bands. With the release Fools, I can't wait to experience these full-bodied songs in-person.
In the meantime, I'll keep this album on loop.
xxChris
p.s. While I've chosen to share the album-version of "Break Bones" above, there is also a gorgeous acoustic live performance that you can watch here.
