I’ve
listened to Wildlife’s new album, ...On The
Heart, approximately 13 times in the past 24 hours. And I think it’s pretty
fantastic, which is actually kind of disappointing, because I had a great intro
totally lined up in the event that it sucked: “I’d rather listen to hyenas
fight over the groaning body of a dying moose in wildlife than listen to ...On
The Heart by Wildlife ever again.” The intro would have been probably been
edited a few times, but that was the gist. Why am I explaining myself? It doesn’t
matter, because the album was great.
...On The Heart gets off to a tough start with the opening song, “If It
Breaks,” and I found myself sitting there thinking "Well fuck, I’m probably
going to have to use the word 'atmospheric' a bunch of times in this review," which
is a problem because let’s be honest, the word “atmospheric” is a bit of a
cop-out and is generally used to describe and/or attempt to make sense of a
bunch of random sounds trying to come together. If you come across the word “atmospheric”
on the internet and you are not reading about the weather or converting to
Scientology, close your computer, place it gently on the ground and walk away.
The second track of the album, “Born
To Ruin,” is more or less forgettable, but the album really picks up on the
third track, “Bad Dream.” It’s just a five-minute long explosion of energy; it
might actually be how the universe was formed. “Bad Dream,” is a good example
of how I want this type of music to sound: upbeat, relentless, and constantly
changing pace. Let’s equate this to driving, shall we? I’ve been comparing a
lot of albums to The Temper Trap recently,
so hey, why not beat a dead horse into the ground or whatever that saying is? TTT (as the cool kids abbreviate it)
was pretty decent, but the beats and melodies never really broke the speed
limit, so to speak. It kind of just rolled along at 55 on cruise control the
entire time. ...On The Heart, on the
other hand, hugs the turns tightly and totally guns it on the flat stretches.
It’s an exciting album.
Time and time again, I found
myself subconsciously nodding my head in approval of each song. I kept thinking "Yes, I’m very okay with this." A good example is the beginning of the fourth track, “One For The Body.” It starts with a steady drum beat, and gradually
picks up pace as the guitar and synthesizer join the party. The synthesizer
stops as the vocals begin: “We’ll be waiting when the Rapture comes/And you and
I will lay there arm and arm,” and you get the sense that the entire beat is
going to slow down and hide beneath the lyrics. But no, that doesn’t happen. It
immediately picks back up and races off quickly, and as that’s happening, a
moment of musical perfection occurs at the 53 second mark when backup vocals
enter right on cue. It’s a brilliant first minute.
The final track, “Two Hearts
Race,” is, with extreme bias, the best closing song on an album since “God
of Wine” off Third Eye Blind. It’s a
slightly-80’s-sounding song, but despite my hatred towards all things 80’s, I
loved this song. Maybe it was the passion and the frantic nature of the final
half of the song that did it for me. So wait, does this mean I actually like
the 80’s? Because now that I think about it, I can’t think of an 80’s song without passion and a frantic way about
it. Anyway, “Two Hearts Race,” climaxes with a minimalistic but powerful guitar
solo that literally made me turn and look at my speakers, as if…well, as if
they were trying to get my attention.
So let’s recap. The pacing of
the album is wonderful, there is a moment of musical perfection, it sounds
better than hyenas eating a moose, and it caused a major personal musical
crisis. Is there anything else you can ask for in an album?
Grade: A-
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