Review Summary: Outrunning the blues, so now I'm never bored
Wild Pink has accumulated quite a strong discography at this point, but for me, the last few releases have marked their peak form. 2022 full-length
ILYSM may well remain their magnum opus, a release which stretched the group’s sound to greater lengths than ever before while also navigating, with significant emotional potency, the existential stakes brought to the fore by frontman John Ross’ cancer diagnosis. The band then followed it up with an early 2024 EP,
Strawberry Eraser, a very compelling (if very short) teaser - “Air Drumming Fix You”, one of their finest tunes, alongside two slim and noisy tracks which, once more, see the band pleasingly expanding upon their typical signature.
Now, only a few months after those three songs saw the light of day, where does Wild Pink venture with their fifth LP? A few clear takeaways are immediately in evidence… First, Wild Pink are still firing on all cylinders. Second,
Dulling the Horns takes a relatively gritty approach compared to the atmospheric sense of polish which typically adorns the band’s releases. And third, this may well be Wild Pink’s most immediate collection - ten tracks presented in a very accessible framework of classic rock-tinged songcraft.
Indeed, while traces of the crunching Cloakroom-esque shoegaze which
ILYSM occasionally toyed with remain, this is generally a rather upbeat and even breezy listen. Ross’ ruminations here can still be thoughtfully melancholic at times (“Cloud or Mountain” will likely sneak into your heart), but there’s plenty of more lighthearted material to be found here as well (just see the semi-spoken word of “Eating the Egg Whole” or the laconic musing of “Catholic Dracula”), and the overall feeling is rather ebullient. You can interpret those more upbeat vibes however you like - as a response to Ross ultimately emerging cancer-free, or the recent birth of his first child, for example - but as a listener, what really comes through in these songs is a primordial rush in the old rock n’ roll sense - the reckless abandon of listening to some tasty guitar - whether it’s unveiled through some boisterous faster tracks, some graceful slower tunes, or in a particularly notable thunderous solo (at the end of “St. Catherine St.”). Regardless, it’s a good time.
Dulling the Horns might not be an extremely short album (around thirty-eight minutes in full), but it does possess a sort of “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” quality. Mostly, I take this as a positive - the songs tend to fly by in a pleasant haze of toe-tapping enjoyment. It’s only during the closer, “Rung Cold”, a leisurely six-minute piece, that the record seems to sit back and reflect rather than plowing ahead inexorably. That’s kinda where I am too. This album isn’t an easy one to assess, as it seems made for enjoyment rather than analysis. Sure, it’s a blast to listen to, and I doubt many existing fans of Wild Pink (or newcomers who enjoy various shades of indie, rock, and Americana) won’t find a lot to love, but the record doesn’t operate in a similar ballpark to the more grand ambitions of
ILYSM either. Ultimately, I think that’s fine -
Dulling the Horns feels like a one-off, a jam-y affair which doesn’t give a lot of clues to where Wild Pink will go next. I’m definitely still along for the ride.
