Wild Pink 'Yolk in the Fur'

Its funny sometimes how albums come into your life, by accident by recommendation. On the off chance one morning of browsing via Twitter, this album was reviewed on my feed and I read the review. Part from appreciation of the person's taste but also the gorgeous album cover of the album in question - a birds eye view shot of a landscape but from a different perspective resembles Mr. Incredible pointing westward ho to something if nothing.

So via an Amazon Music app you take a chance on listening to the album; this writer has always had a soft spot for fringe albums the type that may not even engage with the mainstream or near UK radio stations nor garner deserved airplay (I could rant about the 2018 Mercury Music Prize shortlist but I will not).

The album by Wild Pink is one of those growers, an album that is large in scale but small in stature. Lead writer John Ross writes about the environment and the landscapes his feet tread upon in sharp juxtaposition to the band hailing from the urbanity of New York City.

Ross writes about hills in the album opener 'Burger Hill' and lakes in the second 'Lake Erie' with the recurring refrain 'You thought you'd never get out' then the title track itself. Most tracks run at over four and a half minutes allowing songs to form an identity of their own - it reminded me of a little heard album called 'Amusement Parks on Fire' a self-titled album by a Nottingham band which was large in scope but never got the acclaim it deserved.

This is an album rich in harmonies, at times almost tranquil but breezy making the album seem almost laidback to the point of coming across as too easy in terms of production; yet there is more to the album than mere lushness. There is a wanting for simpler times than the ones Americans find them living in now - one where they were in touch with their country thanks to pioneers as Theodore Roosevelt

The euphoric crescendo of 'The Séance on St. Augustine St.' is reminiscent of anything by Doves or My Morning Jacket; these are songs that take time to breathe and become more than humble beginnings.  This is an album that is inventive and seamless with tracks knitting together to form an overall personality.

This is an album that is full of ideas and imagination that you rarely find nowadays in American and perhaps rock music; bombastic and fantastic in equal measure, Wild Pink may well have written the great unknown album of 2018.

Wild Pink's Yolk in the Fur is released by Tiny Engines and available in all formats now.