Wild Child - “Photographs”
Austin-based Wild Child is a seven-piece “mini-orchestra” that formed in 2010 upon releasing their first album, Pillow Talk. And if you have yet to hear of them or listen to Pillow Talk or The Runaround (2015) or Fools (2015) or Expectations (2018) or any of the EPs and singles they’ve sprinkled in between them, you may want to dive deeper after hearing their new single, “Photographs.”
“Photographs” starts with the hints that it was born in a living room, with the tell-tale sounds of background noise and a quick chord to make sure that the guitar is in tune. But once it begins, you forget all of that because these folks know how to have a sonically good time. The guitar is immediately joined by drums and there’s the teasing of some organ keys, then the vocals begin and sweep you away on the glorious ride of authentic and soulful folk music, performed by competent musicians who play so well together that it’s quite possible the whole track was recorded in a single take with just a couple microphones. This sound is so freaking thick and delicious that if they could box it up and sell it at the store, Wild Child would have all of our money by now. All of this occurs before the hook has even happened, so when that thing swoops in at fifty-five seconds, any lucky listener will find themselves in headphone heaven, because in come the strings and the brass and the vocal harmonies and how the hell have we lived this long without this band in our lives?
No matter where you’re from, this song sounds like coming home again. It is a three minute and seventeen second musical hug and if this is your first time hearing it, be sure to pay it forward by sending it to all of your friends.
For those of you who prefer Spotify, we didn’t forget about you:
-TM