Artist: Wanderwild
Album: Fleeting
Label: Self Released
Release Date: 03/25/2016
Fleeting by Wanderwild has become my car soundtrack for the past month, with six rock-based tracks that revolve around heady drum rhythms, flowing guitar melodies and bittersweet vocals. I’ve literally played this disc all the way through at least once a day, and am still not tired of it. What kind of magic is this?! What started out as an album review turned into one of my favorite discs of the year, and I must admit that I know almost all the words by now- along with some makeshift harmonies that I’ve tested out (with the windows rolled up).
The disc has a folk overlay and true storytelling/songwriting that hits some heartstrings, while the music is hooky, creating a cyclical flow with guitar and punchy, driving drumbeats. First track “Optimist” is the stand-out hit, while follow-up “Evergreens” digs deeper and builds sonically, while vocals hit those emotional high notes and soar. “Make it up as we go; they’ll never know. Because everyone is just the same; different faces, different names.”
“Misty Morning” has a simple but beautiful guitar base and sweet violin and piano touches that propel the track into a pleading ballad that searches through loneliness, loss, and love to self-discovery. “I’ve been talking to our fears. Finally they say they’ll leave us alone. So we don’t have to be alone…Oh, my misty morning blue eyes, love will prove that death is a lie.”
“Glow” has an intoxicating hook, while “Natural Desire” keeps things simple by just using soft, melancholy guitar and vocals. “La Mer” is my personal favorite, with a haunting, cyclical feeling built from a subtle rhythmic base blended with precisely placed wavering guitar chords and wailing lead vocals that crescendo into a raw space of pure emotion and ecstasy rooted in freeing revelation. “And now our feet won’t touch dry ground. Because we are lost and yet we’re found…Because we are free in spirit now.”
-Kalyn Oyer
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