aaamusic | On 15, Aug 2011

Despite having been around for only eight months, and having only played a few shows (albeit shows with rising bands such as O. Children, The Vaccines and Electricity In Our Homes) Wildlife have a heady appeal to their sound that makes the single ‘Drive’ hard to ignore.

There might not be an incredible sense of originality in the sound, pitched somewhere between the loping squall of 80s post-punk and a harder grungy inflection, but that’s not to say it is derivative or dislikeable.  Think about putting albums by The Smiths and Pearl Jam into a time machine with a couple of The Fall’s singles. The mixing is crystal-clear, and the triple rhythm adds a woozy swing to the slow, high wail of the guitar riff. The vocals and lyricism are matched very well, an introspective, bitter mindset delivered by a fuzzed-out murmur that rises as the track builds. The song structure twists a standard rock song into something a little more unusual, as the band plunge into something approaching a more fiery Sunny Day Real Estate with hints Queens Of The Stone Age for the latter half of the song, with heavier guitar sounds and the drums clattering with swaying fervour.

There’s a good amount of potential at play here, and although no synapses have been set alight by ‘Drive’, Wildlife are already showing an ability to push at the boundaries of the box, and could well be ones to watch.

 

Author: Katie H-Halinski