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Artist......: Wild Pink
Album.......: A Billion Little Lights
Label.......: Royal Mountain Records
Genre.......: Indie
Catnr.......: RMR-133-2
Source......: CD
Rip.date....: 2021-02-26
Str.date....: 2021-02-19
Quality.....: 902 kbps avg / 44.1kHz / 2 channels
Url.........: http://wildpink.bandcamp.com
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\ / # title time \ /
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1. The Wind Was Like A Train 2:38
2. Bigger Than Christmas 5:04
3. The Shining But Tropical 4:51
4. Amalfi 4:16
5. Oversharers Anonymous 4:50
6. You Can Have It Back 3:23
7. Family Friends 3:53
8. Track Mud 4:23
9. Pacific City 3:58
10. Die Outside 4:01
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\ / ________ Runtime 41:17
,\ /... . . .... .... \ / ' Size 279.88______
:\/ ', \ / , \ /
' '... ..\ /.. .. .....:. .. .... .. . ..\ /.
: Release Notes: \/ , \/ ,
' '
,: Wild PinkÆs last album, 2018Æs Yolk In The Fur, concluded with a :,
: song about the strange sense of relief that comes with ôletting :
:' go of youth.ö Frontman John Ross, then in his early thirties, ':
,: was singing from a place of newfound comfort and wisdom, but it :,
: ended with a repetition of the line, ôI donÆt know what happens :
:' next.ö The song, titled ôAll Some FrenchmanÆs Jokeö, is a ':
,: beautifully concise rendering of a universal milestone: leveling :,
: up from the wide-eyed naivety and self-destructive routines of :
:' our youth, only to realize that weÆre as unprepared for the ':
,: future as we were for the past. :,
: :
:' On Wild PinkÆs third album and first for Royal Mountain ':
,: Records, A Billion Little Lights, Ross explores that dichotomy :,
: of finally achieving emotional securityùof accepting the love :
:' and peace he deprived himself of in his twentiesùwhile also ':
,: feeling existentially smaller and more directionless than ever :,
: before. The record is a two-pronged triumph: an extraordinary :
:' reflection on the human condition presented through the ':
,: sharpest, grandest, and most captivating songs Wild Pink have :,
: ever composed. :
:' ':
,: The band, which is rounded out by bassist T.C. Brownell and :,
: drummer Dan Keegan, formed in New York City in 2015 and put out :
:' a handful of EPÆs before releasing their critically acclaimed ':
,: self-titled debut in 2017. It was a sophisticated showing for a :,
: bandÆs first album, but it was the striking maturation of Yolk :
:' In The Fur that established Wild PinkÆs unique sound: a ':
,: glistening variety of pastoral indie-rock akin to The War On :,
: Drugs, Death Cab For Cutie, and Kurt Vile, but informed by :
:' classic American rock poets like Bruce Springsteen and Tom ':
,: Petty. The album received glowing praise from Pitchfork (a score :,
: of 8.1), Billboard, NPR, Stereogum, and Uproxx, the latter :
:' deeming them ôone of indieÆs best emerging bands.ö ':
,: :,
: Even though Wild Pink were operating within the relatively :
:' modest world of contemporary indie-rock, critics likened them ':
,: to the types of revered rock auteurs who rack up Grammy :,
: nominations. So for A Billion Little Lights, they actually made :
:' that leap. The record was produced, mixed, and co-engineered by ':
,: producer David Greenbaum, whoÆs worked with the likes of Beck, :,
: U2, Cage The Elephant, and Jenny Lewis. Like all Wild Pink :
:' records, the songs were entirely written and arranged by Ross, ':
,: who shaped them into high-quality demos over the course of a :,
: year in his new home in New YorkÆs Hudson Valley. But unlike :
:' previous Wild Pink albums, Ross enlisted a deep bench of ':
,: session musicians and friends to perform a litany of additional :,
: instruments, finally granting RossÆs musical visions the space :
:' and sonic resources they needed to achieve their finest forms. ':
,: :,
: :
:' The ten songs on A Billion Little Lights are adorned with ':
,: fiddles, violins, wurlitzers, saxophones, accordions, pedal :,
: steel guitars, and a variety of richly textured synths and :
:' keyboards. In addition to the instrumentation, Julia Steiner of ':
,: the Chicago band Ratboys provides beautiful harmonies throughout :,
: the record, her soft voice recalling the friendly glow of a :
:' porch light when it switches on behind RossÆs dusky coo. On ':
,: past records, RossÆs breathy delivery rarely raised above a :,
: hushed murmur, but here he sings with a melodic confidence that :
:' makes songs like ôPacific Cityö, ôDie Outsideö, and ôThe ':
,: Shining But Tropicalö some of the catchiest, most anthemic cuts :,
: in the Wild Pink catalog. The band have never sounded dated or :
:' nostalgic, but the lingering twinge of Americana in their sound ':
,: has always given their songs a familiar, classicist resonance. :,
: On A Billion Little Lights, there are little details like :
:' speckles of auto-tune, flashing synths, and even trip-hop-esque ':
,: drum loops that subtly yet effectively rebuff the notion that :,
: Wild PinkÆs music yearns for a bygone era: the album sounds at :
:' once timeless and unmistakably modern. ':
,: :,
: That sonic quality is a fitting complement to the albumÆs :
:' lyrics, which see Ross caught in the bramble between his past ':
,: and his present; feeling suffocated by the repetition of life :,
: while simultaneously gazing at the stars above and marveling at :
:' the unquantifiable vastness of it all. ôTime spreads like ':
,: Jasmine on a fence / Always behind, I can let go but IÆm still :,
: always behindö he sings on the shimmering ôBigger Than :
:' Christmasö. On the sprightly folk-rocker ôYou Can Have It ':
,: Backö, he cheekily sizes up his flaws (ôEverybody laughs easily :,
: / ThereÆs something wrong with meö) and outwardly admits, ôNever :
:' figured out how to live / Just dreaming all the time.ö ôFamily ':
,: Friendsö and ôTrack Mudö are musings on day-to-day stasis: :,
: ôEvery day is GroundhogÆs Day nowö he sings in the former, while :
:' lamenting about being ôlost in anxious thoughts againö in the ':
,: latter. :,
: :
:' However, itÆs the final two songs, the recordÆs musical ':
,: standouts, that offer a tepidly hopeful counter to those periods :,
: of despair. In ôPacific Cityö, Ross sings about barely being :
:' able to recognize the person he once was, a self left behind ':
,: once he shedded self-hatred (ôFor every little thing about :,
: myself I couldnÆt changeö) and learned to ômake hay while the :
:' sun shined.ö ôAnd you deserve the good things thatÆll come to ':
,: you / You just need a little roomö, goes its hook. ItÆs unclear :,
: whether that ôroomö is a reference to his literal relocation to :
:' rural upstate New York, or a metaphor for emotional space, but ':
,: either way ôDie Outsideö is all about making it. With a :,
: stadium-sized hook and the rhythmic swing of a two-ton pendulum, :
:' Ross calls to ôlet every wall come downö with a windswept ':
,: sing-song of a delivery, a barnraiser of a hook. :,
: :
:' Whereas Yolk In The Fur ended with an admission of utter ':
,: uncertainty, this album ends with a more conclusive observation: :,
: ôYour blood is like ocean water.ö ItÆs an almost soothing :
:' acceptance of our primordial nature, that like the ancient ':
,: water of the sea or the billions of little stars above, weÆre as :,
: much a part of something greater and everlasting as we are a :
:' mere flicker in the night sky. Wild PinkÆs music has always ':
,: rooted around in those sort of immortal complexities, but A :,
: Billion Little Lights is the first time the surrounding music :
:' truly captures those alternatingly micro and macro quandaries. ':
,: It, too, is something to marvel at. :,
: :
:' ':
: '
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\ / Shout out to all our homies from: \ /
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\ / H O U N D \ /
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